ARSENAL has reportedly stepped up its search for Oleksandr Zinchenko.
But they face stiff competition from West Ham for the Manchester City star.
Zinchenko, 25, has been at the Etihad since 2016 after a £1.7m exchange offer from Ufa.
The Ukrainian star won four Premier League titles with 128 appearances.
But Joao Cancelo is City’s number one left-back after another incredible season.
And Pep Guardiola is also believed to be in the market for Brighton’s Marc Cucurella.
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It means Zinchenko may end up leaving City in search of regular minutes elsewhere.
And the Standard claims that Arsenal have emerged as a contender after Arteta worked with Zinchenko during his time as Guardiola’s assistant.
The Gunners boss wants Zinchenko to help cover injury-prone Kieran Tierney, who can also play centre-back.
But Arsenal are also ready to use Zinchenko as a midfielder when needed, thus giving him a regular starting role.
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However, West Ham are on the prowl as David Moyes prepares to hijack the talks.
The Hammers are set to sell Arthur Masuaka, leaving Aaron Cresswell as the club’s sole left-back.
And like Arteta, Moyes would also be interested in using Zinchenko as a midfielder.
West Ham fell through with a £50m bid for Kalvin Phillips from Leeds in January.
While new target James Ward-Prowse could command a similar fee from Southampton.
Thus, the acquisition of Zinchenko would effectively solve Moyes’ left-back and midfield problems in one fell swoop.
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