Shakhtar gave Premier League giants Arsenal a real scare at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night but ultimately left north London empty-handed, going down 1-0 following an unfortunate own goal from goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk.
The visitors can be proud of their efforts as a team without a home ground since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and as a squad still coping with the effects of the war.
Indeed, they earned many admirers for pushing Arsenal all the way and could have even secured a point had it not been for a fine late save from Gunners goalkeeper David Raya.
Shakhtar boss Marino Pusic was full of praise for his players following the narrow defeat for representing not only the club but the country.
The away end at the Emirates was awash with Ukraine flags and Zinchenko, who remained on the Arsenal bench, shared a touching interaction with the Shakhtar fans after the game.
An emotional Zinchenko made a point of going over to the away fans, the large majority of whom would be his compatriots, and applauding them for their support before giving his shirt to a supporter.
The Shakhtar Donetsk fans clearly appreciated Zinchenko’s gesture and head coach Pusic also paid tribute to the defender, describing him as a ‘great guy’.
Pusic even revealed Zinchenko had visited the Shakhtar dressing room after the game to show his support to the players and listen to his post-match speech.
He was also spotted taking pictures with several of the squad and signing an Arsenal shirt that would be taken back with the Shakhtar squad.
Zinchenko captained Shakhtar Donetsk at youth level before joining Ufa in 2015, current Premier League champions Manchester City in 2016 and Arsenal six years later.
As Shakhtar boss Pusic was shown footage of Zinchenko interacting with the away fans, he said on Amazon Prime: ‘It’s beautiful to see these people.
‘We like to give these people something to be proud of. You can see what passion they have for the country and the club.
‘Oleksandr [Zinchenko] was our guest in the changing room at the end of the game, he was listening to my speech to the players. Great guy, we love him, and an amazing player of course.’
Assessing his side’s spirited performance, Pusic added: ‘We knew it would be tough. The way they play, the power.
‘We’re not used to these games in our league. We were disciplined but didn’t get much time on the ball.
‘They were better than us in the first half but at 1-0 you have a chance. When I see how we played in the second half, we made some small changes, but I think we dominated at times in the second half.
‘I think we deserved a goal. Playing Arsenal away, always difficult in Champions League.
‘Serious chance for us at the end and the goalkeeper made a few good saves. We had nothing to lose so we tried, we showed up and showed ourselves.
‘We made some changes and the message was it’s just 1-0. You still have a chance against everybody at 1-0. I told them to believe. All good endings start with good believing – that was my message.
‘We compete with everybody. It’s 11 v 11 and you always have a chance. If you don’t believe, don’t show up.
‘Stay close to our identity, how we play how we want to progress and create. I’m very proud of my players. Our schedule is tough to travel. When I see the attitude and the positivity I’m proud.’
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, said he was ‘very pleased’ with the win despite his team making hard work of the Ukrainian side.
The Gunners saw their unbeaten start to the season ended by Bournemouth at the weekend but returned to winning ways ahead of a huge Premier League clash with leaders Liverpool on Sunday.
‘I’m very pleased with the result,’ the Spaniard said. ‘It’s always difficult in Champions League.
‘We should’ve scored more in first half and the second half I felt a bit of fatigue. Playing 60 minutes with 10 men a few days ago is difficult. We left the game a bit open but we dug in for three points.’
Arsenal are fourth in the table in the new Champions League format with seven points from four games, while Shakhtar are 29th out of 36 teams on one point.
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