Pep Guardiola personally called Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko moments after Manchester City won the Champions League in 2023.
The Gunners have been involved in tense Premier League title battles with City for the last two seasons in a row and there is a growing rivalry between the clubs.
Despite increasing tensions between City and Arsenal, though, Guardiola has always maintained a close relationship with his former player Zinchenko.
The 27-year-old Ukraine international joined Arsenal from City in 2022 and he has made 70 appearances for the north Londoners to date.
Zinchenko has now revealed that Guardiola made a personal phone call to him on the night that City clinched the Champions League to complete a historic treble.
‘I guess no one was sleeping that night,’ Zinchenko explained in his new book Believe.
‘But to get a call from Pep? I couldn’t believe it. He said, ‘Alex, you are a big part of this’ – I was fully surprised, in a good way.
‘I said to him, again, a massive thanks for everything he did for me. It shows how good-humoured he could be.’
Meanwhile, Zinchenko received praise from the Shakhtar Donetsk manager on Tuesday night, after he shared a touching moment with the club’s fans amid his country’s ongoing war with Russia.
The away end at the Emirates was awash with Ukraine flags and Zinchenko – who remained on the bench – had a heartwarming interaction with the Shakhtar fans after Arsenal’s 1-0 victory.
An emotional Zinchenko made a point of going over to the away supporters – the large majority of whom would be his compatriots – and applauded them for their support before giving his shirt to a fan.
Shakhtar boss Marino Pusic also revealed that Zinchenko went into the away dressing room after the match to listen to his speech.
‘Oleksandr [Zinchenko] was our guest in the changing room at the end of the game, he was listening to my speech to the players,’ Pusic said. ‘Great guy, we love him, and an amazing player of course.’
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