Eddie Nketiah says 26-year-old Arsenal player is ‘a joke’

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Eddie Nketiah has been hailing Oleksandr Zinchenko’s technical ability.

Speaking on the Premier League’s YouTube channel, Nketiah was asked to put together his dream five-a-side team made up of Arsenal players past and present, and he had a decision to make in the defence.

Gabriel Magalhaes came into his thinking due to his physical dominance, but at the end of the day, Nketiah decided to go with Zinchenko, claiming that the Ukrainian has the technical ability to absolutely dominate a small-sided game.

Indeed, the striker stated that Zinchenko is unreal technically, labelling his ability with the ball as a ‘joke’.

Zinchenko is so good

Nketiah praised the defender.

“It’s tough man, I’m thinking out of two, Zini and Gabriel. Gabriel brings that oomph about him that you need, but for five-a-side Zini technically is a joke, so I’m going to go with Zinchenko, just because when I have the ball he brings the calmness,” Nketiah said.

Imagine

Zinchenko is one of the most technically proficient players in the Premier League, and we can’t even begin to imagine what he’d be like in a five-a-side game.

In a small-sided game where dainty touches and quick flicks rule all, Zinchenko would be a league above anyone else.

Yes, he’s not the quickest or the strongest, but in five-a-side that isn’t the most important thing, a small-sided game is about your close control, touch and ability to move in small spaces, and that’s where Zinchenko thrives.

There may not be a player in the Premier League more suited to a five-a-side game, and as Nketiah says, Zinchenko’s technicality is almost beyond belief.