£30m Arsenal star might push to stay this summer even though Andrea Berta wants to sell him

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After a flurry of signings at Arsenal already this summer, sporting director Andrea Berta will now need to balance the books somewhat.

Arsenal have spent big on Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke, and they’ve also recruited Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga for considerable fees.

And although Mikel Arteta recently claimed that his squad looked a bit short ahead of the new season, it’s clearly bloated in some areas.

TBR Football recently shared that Arsenal were preparing for a squad overhaul — the likes of Fabio Vieira were up for sale and the Gunners are ready to enter the next phase of their transfer plans.

And although Arsenal want to sell Oleksandr Zinchenko as well, it could prove a little more difficult to offload the former Manchester City star.

Oleksandr Zinchenko might stay at Arsenal for the final year of his contract

Speaking on the Latte Firm podcast, journalist Sam Dean has now provided an interesting insight into Zinchenko’s situation this summer.

Arsenal are ready to move on from Zinchenko as stated, but Dean explained that the 28-year-old might actually choose to stay at the club to see out the final year of his deal.

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Initially speaking about the expected outgoings at Arsenal, Dean said: “I think the obvious candidates, Lokonga I think is likely to go, Zinchenko I think could actually be a bit more tricky.”

Pressed on why selling Zinchenko might be tough, he continued: “I think that’s a big part of it (his wages), also he’s in London, he’s happy, he’s settled, his family are here, he’s got young kids here.

“One year left as well (on his deal), so for him you could easily see potentially the value of waiting one more year on a good contract at a great club in London.

“And then obviously being a free agent next year gives him a lot more freedom. So I think for him it would need to be a really good move, which is very possible that he’ll get that.

“I think that one, just based on some of the names and clubs that have been linked to him and sort of checking those out, I don’t think that’s moving the dial in the way you might expect, so that could be a bit trickier, but let’s see — it’s quite a long way to go.”

Myles Lewis-Skelly has replaced Oleksandr Zinchenko at the Emirates

Of course, no one could blame Zinchenko at all for wanting to stay at Arsenal, he’s got a contract with the club and he’s always been an exemplary professional.

However, game time might be limited for the £30m defender next season.

Myles Lewis-Skelly has quickly become one of Arteta’s most important players — he was crucial in the side’s two-legged win over Real Madrid in the Champions League last season.

Moreover, Arteta said Riccardo Calafiori will have a big season at Arsenal as well in his recent press conference — there’s a lot of competition at left-back.

Clearly Zinchenko can offer something to Arsenal, he’s a gifted player with the ball at his feet, and he’s still one of the best technical inverted full-backs in European football.

However, as Arteta shifts towards a more physically imposing back line, Zinchenko might find opportunities hard to come by next term, should he stay.