The untold story of how Emmanuel Frimpong became Zinchenko's English 'teacher' in Russia

Former Arsenal midfielder, Emmanuel Frimpong is perhaps remembered more for his ‘Dench’ nickname than the number of games he played for the Gunners. In his three-year spell with the senior team of Arsenal, Emmanuel Frimpong made less than ten appearances due to injuries and also the availability of superior talents to Arsene Wenger.

Frimpong is loved by Arsenal fans, primarily because of his personality but another reason that could earn him more admiration is that he once thought Oleksander Zinchenko the English language.

According to James Nicholas of The Athletic, Frimpong, and Zinchenko were teammates at the Russian club Ufa and that is where he expressed interest in learning the English language.

Emmanuel Frimpong who grew up in England thus became his English teacher and handed him some lessons in the language.

“Zinchenko’s first real English lesson came when he was playing in Russia for a team called Ufa. He was given them by a teammate of the time who is none other than former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong. Zinchenko learned English under the tutelage of Emmanuel Frimpong”, he narrated.

Years on from their experience in Russia and the two of them have witnessed contrasting developments in their careers.

Oleksandr Zinchenko has gone on to play for Manchester City and currently plays for Frimpong’s boyhood club Arsenal.

Frimpong, on other hand, has retired from the game due to persistent injuries which did not allow him to enjoy consistent football.

In his first season at the club, Zinchenko has become a cult hero with his performances as an inverted left-back.

He has been one of Arsenal’s standout players and a key factor in their pursuit of a league title for the first time in over a decade.

In the dressing room, Zinchenko has been tagged as a mentality monster who has been one of the guys driving the Arsenal players to their edge and pushing them to win the league.

In the first half of the season, Arsenal managed 50 points, winning and losing one each of their first 19 games.

The record is the best in the history of the Arsenal Football Club.

KPE