‘A mark of respect’ – Oleksandr Zinchenko named Arsenal captain for Premier League clash against Leicester City

Oleksandr Zinchenko has been named Arsenal captain for their Premier League match away at Leicester City to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine conflict.

The Gunners announced the news on their social media channels and said the move was made “as a mark of respect,” with Zinchenko temporarily taking the armband away from Granit Xhaka.

The statement read: “Alex Zinchenko is our captain today, as a mark of respect and love on the first anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine.”

Mikel Arteta has replaced Eddie Nketiah with Gabriel Martinelli in the only change to the side that beat Aston Villa 4-2 last Saturday.

Thomas Partey has returned to the squad and takes his place on the bench after recovering from a thigh injury. Partey missed the 3-1 defeat at home to title rivals Manchester City and the victory against Villa.

A win for Arsenal at the King Power Stadium would move Arteta’s men five points clear at the top of the table before Manchester City face Bournemouth later on this evening.

Arteta was not in a position to confirm the news, but stressed the need to keep the club’s best players.

“We want to keep our best players, the players that we are developing,” Arteta explained.

“We want to create a long-term project here, and obviously, we need our best players to be committed to the club.

“That’s our responsibility to keep our best players, our best people and the people that have the same aims and purpose with the club, to keep them together for a while, give them some stability and from there keep evolving and become a better club.”

Meanwhile, the Arsenal boss revealed that Gabriel Jesus is making good progress in his recovery from a knee injury, with the hope that the Brazilian can play a role in the season run-in.

“He’s progressing really well,” Arteta added. “He’s doing more and more on the field and he’s not reacting [negatively], so that’s really positive.

“We want to have him as quickly as possible but also respect the time-frame we got from the doctor and the specialists. He’s really pushing the boundaries right now.”