pgzen Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko took off his shirt to Shakhtar Donetsk fans who watched his side lose 1-0 in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium yesterday. That’s because they’re both Ukrainians and it’s his old team. pgzen
Zinchenko was an unused substitute yesterday, but he usually likes to hand out jerseys to young Gooners fans, who have young children too. ( pgzen )
But on Tuesday, as soon as the final whistle blew, the 27-year-old walked up to the Shakhtar fans, expressing his gratitude for being nurtured by the giants since their U17 days.
They were both grateful to each other because even though their home country was facing a war of Russian invasion, they still saved up money to travel to England to cheer on their favorite team.
In terms of feedback from fans, the ‘Miners’ are fond of Zinchenko, both as a former trainee and as a global voice calling for an end to the war on home soil.
In addition, in the summer of 2023 , Zinchenko rented Stamford Bridge to organize a charity match to raise money to help the poor Ukrainians affected by the war.