Manchester City and Arsenal are the greatest of rivals in the Premier League right now.
Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola were once student and teacher, but now, they’re truly rivals as they’ve battled hard for the last two Premier League titles.
However, while the rivalry between City and Arsenal is fierce, some of their players are actually good friends.
The likes of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Phil Foden and John Stones are all mates from England duty, while other players have worked together at other clubs such as Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic at Chelsea.
Speaking on his podcast, Kyle Walker has been discussing some of his friendships in football, and he says that he’s still very close with Oleksandr Zinchenko, stating that the pair FaceTime one another at least once a month.
Oleksandr Zinchenko of Arsenal during the pre-season friendly match between Arsenal and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Emirates Stadium on August 07, 2024 ...
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Kyle Walker and Oleksandr Zinchenko are still friends
Walker spoke about how he still speaks to Zinchenko as well as Riyad Mahrez.
The defender says that he often plays padel with Mahrez, while he speaks often to Zinchenko on the phone.
“Riyad wants to play (Padel), I was with him last night. He said he was going to ask us to play, but I needed to recover,” Walker said.
“He just smashes it he says he doesn’t train until 6pm at night, so he goes to the gym in the morning, and plays padel.
“We had a catch-up, yeah it was nice. He came back from Algeria, passed by then flew off to Saudi. He was very reserved at the start when he came to City, but then he came out of his shell. We FaceTime once a month, me him and Zinchenko, we still talk.
“As close as you are with people in the dressing room, there aren’t many you stay in contact with.”
Kyle Walker’s record alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko
It’s not surprising to hear these two are still friends. After all, they’re former teammates who had unbelievable success at Man City.
Zinchenko and Walker won no fewer than four league titles together at the Etihad, and they had a remarkable record when sharing the pitch.
Kyle Walker’s record alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko
Games 68
Wins 59
Draws 2
Losses 7
Trophies 9
Zinchenko and Walker, at one point, may have been the best full-back partnership in the Premier League, and their connection seemingly extended beyond the pitch.
It’s not just Walker who still has a soft spot for Zinchenko either.
Bernardo Silva and Zinchenko are still friends too, and while rivalry is important in football, personal relationships formed between teammates are sometimes unbreakable bonds no matter what.
Gabriel Jesus says Zinchenko is his best friend, and that relationship was initially formed at Man City too.
Zinchenko won’t mind seeing City struggling at the moment as Arsenal creep up on them in the Premier League table, but he still does have a lot of affection for his former teammates.
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