Gabriel Jesus mocks Oleksandr Zinchenko with brutal dig as interview interrupted

Gabriel Jesus mocked Arsenal team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko as the pair’s interview was interrupted by an ambulance siren.

Arsenal have spent £200million in the off-season as Mikel Arteta’s side attempt to better last term’s second-place Premier League finish.

However, preparations ahead of the new campaign have been blighted by injury.

Marquee £105million summer signing Declan Rice missed Arsenal’s pre-season victory against Barcelona due to a calf problem, and the midfielder has since been seen training with strapping on his leg.

Meanwhile, Folarin Balogun has suffered a foot injury, while Zinchenko is nursing a muscular problem that has prevented him from participating in any of the Gunners’ US tour encounters.

On Zinchenko, Arteta said: “Alex had a little muscular issue, unfortunately. I think he will be back soon but it’s a shame he hasn’t been with us the whole tour.”

The 26-year-old has missed 17 competitive games through injury since signing for Arsenal last summer.

And Jesus, who spent five-and-a-half years with Zinchenko at Manchester City before moving to Arsenal alongside the defender, was quick to make a joke at his team-mate’s expense.

As seen in the above video, the pair were playing a game for the club’s media team where they each had to answer a question within five seconds. However, it was briefly interrupted by a nearby siren in the area.

After a few seconds of silence as the duo waited for the sound to drown out, Jesus tapped Zinchenko and joked, "Your taxi!” before bursting into laughter. Zinchenko too broke into a smile.

Of course, the left-back had mocked the Brazilian earlier in the interview. When asked to name three teams Jesus had scored against last season, Zinchenko replied: "Wolverhampton... that's it."

Jesus swiftly responded by pointing out Zinchenko's lack of goals. He said: "He wants to joke! Don't ask me this [for Zinchenko] because I only know one - Aston Villa! That's it. A deflection."

Zinchenko also explained how he was made to feel welcome after signing for the Gunners.

"It's been a pleasure during all this time since I arrived,” he said. "I knew obviously Gabi and also Mikel [Arteta] and a couple of lads as well in the team. The adaptation was not too hard at all, the guys helped me a lot. The energy of the fans as well from the first game, so I felt something special and I felt really at home."

Topics: Football, Transfers, Premier League, Arsenal, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.