Alex Zinchenko says Arsenal’s players can ward off fatigue when the Premier League resumes by being the epitome of professional on and off the pitch.
The Gunners return to action on Boxing Day when West Ham visit the Emirates and the games start to flow at regular intervals throughout January and February.
Looking further ahead, once European action resumes, the schedule gets even more hectic with Mikel Arteta’s squad potentially facing games every three days for weeks on end.
Having been part of a Manchester City set-up well versed in what is needed to compete at the business end of the season, Zinchenko shared the following advice.
“What I’ve seen in the past, if you have the right attitude and the right behaviour on and off the pitch, you can’t be tired physically,” he told Arsenal.com.
“You can be only tired in the head – everything is coming from your head.
“If you do all the things right in your routine – your sleep, your food, look after yourself well – and you do everything to prepare your body fresh. If you do everything right, you can’t be tired physically.”
In addition to staying mentally and physically fresh, it’s clear Arsenal are going to have to find ways to adapt when things don’t go to plan.
Arteta is set to rejig his preferred starting XI to replace the injured Gabriel Jesus with Eddie Nketiah and it’s likely other fitness issues could be the biggest obstacle to a successful end to the season. Zinchenko says sharing the burden of responsibility will help.
“I have no doubts that Nketiah is going to do his job amazingly and everyone trusts him,” said Zinchenko.
“We have such a great group of people. We have this feeling of togetherness.”
Judging by Rob Holding’s comments, the squad aren’t looking too far ahead and will continue to tackle each challenge as they come.
Reflecting on the club’s five-point lead at the top of the table, he said: “At the start we didn’t say we want to be five points clear by the World Cup, we just took one game at a time and this is where it has got us so far.
“We’ve had a roadmap for the first 20 games or so, and we’ve just been ticking them off one by one, not looking too far ahead, and just trying to keep it going.
“We’re in a good position but we know how big the second part of the season will be.
He added: “I don’t think we are really looking at where we are in the league too much. We have to carry on focussing on what we’ve done to get us into this position, and keep taking it one game at a time.”
Holding is also expecting Arsenal’s supporters to play a big role in motivating the team. The Gunners are unbeaten in the league at home this season and the fervant atmosphere at Emirates Stadium has taken visiting teams and fans by surprise.
“We can sense everyone being loud and behind us, so yeah it’s the best I’ve known since I’ve been at Arsenal in terms of that, definitely,” said the 27-year-old.
“Things like the Louis Dunford song before the game definitely help. It’s a good song and it rings around in the stadium really loud and it will get bigger and bigger. The supporters are really doing their bit to boost the atmosphere.
“The first game back after the World Cup, for sure, so it’s good that we are at home for that and feel that buzz around the place. It’s down to us to make the most of that.”
Love this fella we’re lucky to have him, hopefully he can return and be injury free for the season 😊
There are only 2 teams in London, Arsenal and others….
Arsenal, and Arsenal U21’s.
Arsenal and Arsenal Women
He mentioned Arsenal. Surely that already includes men & women, they’re both Arsenal. And the Under 21s, Under 19s, etc etc.
When you ask Google, when is the next Arsenal game, do they ask you Men or Women?
Difficult to get fatigued when you’re injured all the time.
Is that you Fats?
Nope. Just stating the obvious which is too painful it seems for the down voters. Melts.
love when someone comes steaming in with a negative comment like this and then gets insecure about downvotes. like yeah dude those MELTS just weren’t ready for your FACTS. don’t consider that maybe you were being negative and they didnt appreciate it. nope, MELTS. TOO MUCH FOR THEM.
loser
no
Lol…I was gonna say: “good to know he has the exhaustion thing figured out, now he’s just gotta master the infirmation component”
One might even call him a mentality monster.
Tired? Nah. I’ve seen his wife.
zivchenko should concentre on getting fit, otherwise I tend to be believe that Pepe knew something more than him
In regards to north london forever, i wish they would play the whole song before the game rather than just the chorus for 30 seconds. Anyway, i love that we got zinchenko, hes a brilliant player in my opinion. I just wish he wasnt so injured!
That song is so overated and cheesy..We’re a south London club originally anyway
Spud Alert 🚨
Put the silver polish away for another year, you Middlesex Melt, you’re gonna win fuck all yet again.
This had me roaring with laughter!
‘North London Forever’ is an awesome anthem. The writing style is very reminiscent of Gary Kemp and the chorus sounds like a Spandau tune.
All the Spandau lads are avid Gooners. (Except the Sax player, Steve Norman, who supports that lot up the road. There’s always one)
Spud alert! What u chatting about. We were called Woolwich Arsenal, fool. North London forever sucks. Its really forced and I cringe when it’s played. Man a south London gooner and what
Arsenal were in South London for only 33 years but have been in North London for over 102 years, that said if Geography is a big deal you could always follow Millwall.
Quite the opposite. I’m against an anthem for my club being so geographically specific when we are a global enterprise. I’m proud that we have gooners world wide from Lagos to Las Vegas. So I don’t identitfy with this north London forever nonsense when we were founded in south in the first place.
For a large chunk of our history, we weren’t a ‘global enterprise.’ Funny how you can legislate for our south London formation, yet have a problem with our illustrious north London culture. Every single major trophy our club has won has been whilst we’ve been at Highbury or the Emirates. And unless you are 103 years old or more, you have only ever known Arsenal to be a north London club. If we’re a ‘global enterprise’ as you say, does that not also include north London as well? Q was right, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that… Read more »
What’s the matter dude? ‘North London Forever’ got too many notes, chords, harmonies and melodies for your rap beatbox drum machine brain to process? So we were formed at an arms factory on Christmas Day in Woolwich in 1886. And at one point we were also called Royal Arsenal. And our first set of red shirts were donated to us by Nottingham Forest. So what? We’re a North London club now and proud of it. If you’re not, that’s your problem, not the majority. And as our South London beginnings are nominally thrown back at us by the Spuds, I’d… Read more »
If you can’t see that some crap indie band crooning about “north London forever” when we were founded in south is embarrassing, then I got no words for you “dude”
😂 😂
You don’t get it, do you? You cringe. Tens of thousands around you sing. They sing their hearts out. Because that song encapsulates what Arsenal and it’s North London community has meant and means to them, whether they come from North London or not. You should try putting your South London hang ups to one side and focus on what the club you claim to support is really about.
Well said, Q. I actually know all the members of Spandau Ballet and have been mates with them since the days of the Blitz Club, Steve Dagger and Rusty Egan (rest his soul) in the late 70’s and very early 80’s. My first thoughts when I heard The Angel by Louis Dunford was that he sounded a lot like Gary Kemp and that the chorus part was very Spandau Ballet. You are spot on mate. I wouldn’t worry about people who are too young or too ignorant to know about life at the Arsenal before we became a so-called ‘global… Read more »
Can we get Griezman and use him exactly the way Deschamps did in the WC? We need that.
In a word, no.