‘I knew I was in trouble,’ says Zinchenko as he reveals what he said to Pep Guardiola to get training cancelled

OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO has recalled the time that questioning Pep Guardiola saw Manchester City training cancelled on the spot.

The Ukrainian full-back spent six years playing under Guardiola at the Etihad before making the switch to Arsenal in 2022.

Zinchenko, 27, had signed from Russian side Ufa and had a huge shock in trying to adapt to Guardiola’s intense tactical training sessions.

The Spanish manager is known for his information-loaded sessions and his incredible management style – which has reaped six Premier League titles and one Champions League since his arrival in Manchester.

But Zinchenko struggled to adapt to Guardiola’s intense methods when he first arrived and one day let the mental exhaustion get the better of him, instantly realising he “was in trouble”.

Writing in his new book, Believe, Zinchenko recalled snapping back at Guardiola who had taken issue with one of his misplaced passes.

He wrote: “Out loud I said: ‘Mister! Like, I just did one wrong pass, you know?’ And his reaction was incredible.

“‘Oh, okay, sorry, sorry, Mr Zinchenko. Sorry,’ said Pep. ‘Okay, guys, thank you, everyone inside.’

“And he went in, walked to the changing room. Training over, all because I talked back. I knew I was in trouble.”

The punishment didn’t stop there either as Zinchenko was benched for the next game.

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In a recent interview with The Guardian, Zinchenko recalled how he wanted to apologise straight away after realising what he had done wrong.

He said: “Listen, first of all, I was not right. I understood straight away, but it would have been silly if I went right to his office and apologised.

“It was game day minus one and I knew his head was totally on the game plan. But I did apologise after the game.”

The pair certainly made up and Zinchenko even revealed that Guardiola called him to thank him for his help after City’s 2023 treble-winning season – despite the defender leaving the season before.

Zinchenko has since settled in at Arsenal where boss Mikel Arteta adopts a similar managerial style.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk