Oleksandr Zinchenko believes Arsenal have proved they can compete with the world’s best teams as the club’s pursuit of domestic and European glory intensifies.
Mikel Arteta’s men kept up the pace with Premier League title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City thanks to Wednesday evening’s comfortable 2-0 victory over lowly Luton.
The Gunners are also chasing Champions League success and next week begin a two-legged quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
With the season at a pivotal stage, left-back Zinchenko feels taking four top-flight points from both Jurgen Klopp’s Reds and Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions this term gives his side confidence.
“Yeah, I won’t lie to you, 100 per cent because it shows that we are ready to compete with the best teams in the world,” he said.
“It’s not easy to play against City away and also Liverpool away and the other teams as well – I don’t want to be disrespectful to the others. It shows that Arsenal are ready to fight for it.
“We know that we are fighting for something big this season.”
Martin Odegaard’s 10th strike of the season and an own goal from Daiki Hashioka were enough to dispatch the relegation-threatened Hatters and build on an Easter Sunday stalemate at City.
Arsenal led the title race for much of last season before fading away in the final weeks.
Ukraine international Zinchenko, a four-time Premier League champion during his City days, feels the Gunners must harness that disappointment but concedes only time will tell if they can avoid a similar fate.
“I can’t tell you this right now because there is still a lot of games to play,” the 27-year-old replied when asked if Arsenal have the squad to fight for both the Champions League and Premier League titles.
“We already have this experience from last season, where we were quite far from the others and then in the end we didn’t do what we wanted.
“This experience we need to take with us and then let’s see what is going to happen. This year all of us we’ve got more experience, we’ve played with each other much, much more and I think we’re improving.”
Arsenal’s final eight top-flight fixtures begin at Brighton on Saturday evening, while they still have to face Champions League-chasing Aston Villa, London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham, and Manchester United.
Luton’s quest for survival continues at home to Bournemouth this weekend.
The 18th-placed Hatters have gone 10 league games without victory following defeat at Emirates Stadium but remain just three points from safety.
Manager Rob Edwards said: “We’ve got to recover well and we’ve got to go and attack the game on Saturday.
“Bournemouth’s not going to be easy and I think everyone needs to know that – the last 20 games I think they’re fifth in the form table.
“We’re going to have to be right at it. We’ve got seven games left now so it’s game on. We know it’s time to be delivering points and we’re going to be going for it.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
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