Arsen Zakharyan
Арсен Захарян
Zakharyan with Dynamo Moscow in 2021
Personal information
Full name Arsen Norayrovich Zakharyan
Date of birth (2003-05-26) 26 May 2003
Place of birth Samara, Russia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Real Sociedad
Number 12
Youth career
2008–2016 Krylia Sovetov Samara
2016–2017 Konoplyov football academy
2017–2020 Dynamo Moscow
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020 Dynamo-2 Moscow 15 (8)
2020–2023 Dynamo Moscow 72 (15)
2023– Real Sociedad 12 (0)
International career‡
2018 Russia U15 7 (1)
2018–2019 Russia U16 10 (3)
2019–2020 Russia U17 7 (1)
2021– Russia U21 3 (1)
2021– Russia 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 January 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2023

Arsen Norayrovich Zakharyan (Russian: Арсен Норайрович Захарян; Armenian: Արսեն Նորայրի Զախարյան; born 26 May 2003) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Sociedad and the Russia national team.

Early life

Zakharyan was born in Samara, Russia into an ethnic Armenian family. Arsen's parents moved from Martakert, Nagorno-Karabakh to Russia after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1992–1994).[2]

Club career

Dynamo Moscow

2020–21 season

Zakharyan made his debut in the Russian Premier League for Dynamo Moscow on 1 November 2020, in a game against FC Tambov during the 2020–21 season.[3] He made his first starting lineup appearance for Dynamo in the first league game after the winter break, on 28 February 2021, scoring his first goal in a 2–1 away win against FC Akhmat Grozny.[4] He became the third-youngest Dynamo player to score a goal in the Russian Premier League, after Aleksandr Kokorin and Pyotr Nemov.[5]

Zakharyan was nominated player of the month for February, March and May 2021 by Dynamo fans based on his performances,[6][7] including a late winner against CSKA Moscow in May.[7] He was voted as player of the 2020–21 season by Dynamo fans,[8] and the Russian Football Union (RFS) nominated him best under-21 player of the season.[9]

2021–22 season

Zaharyan's first goal of the 2021–22 season came on 23 July 2021, opening the score in a 2–0 away victory over FC Rostov; he was also selected as player of the game.[10] On 9 December 2021, the Russian Premier League awarded him as the league's best under-21 player of 2021.[11]

Zakharyan was voted player of the season by Dynamo fans for the second season in a row.[12] He also finished second in the vote for the best under-21 player of the league season, losing out to league's top scorer Gamid Agalarov.[13] The RFS also named him best young player and the best left midfielder of the 2021–22 season.[14]

2022–23 season

On 1 September 2022, Dynamo announced that the club received an offer for Zakharyan's transfer from Premier League club Chelsea on 25 August 2022 and the clubs were negotiating since, but the transfer would not be possible in the summer 2022 transfer window "for a number of technical reasons beyond our control".[15] Dynamo's bank and former owner VTB Bank was sanctioned by the government of Great Britain in February 2022 following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[16] He was voted player of the month by Dynamo fans for September 2022[17] and October 2022.[18]

2023–24 season

Zakharyan started the season with Dynamo among heavy speculation about his potential transfer to a European club. Russian press reported interest from Lazio, Feyenoord, Strasbourg, Genoa, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax.[19] On 9 August 2023, Zakharyan scored a winning goal from a free-kick deep in added time to give Dynamo 4–3 victory over FC Krasnodar in a Russian Cup game.[20] For the next league game against Baltika Kaliningrad on 13 August, Zakharyan was not included in the matchday squad and watched the game from the stands. Dynamo president Pavel Pivovarov announced that the transfer terms between Dynamo and Spanish club Real Sociedad as well as the personal contract terms have been agreed on, and the transfer would become official upon the medical examination.[21]

Real Sociedad

On 19 August 2023, La Liga club Real Sociedad announced the signing of Zakharyan, contract with the club until 30 June 2029.[22]

International career

Youth

On 15 March 2021, Zakharyan was selected for Russia U21's squad for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He had previously represented Russia up to the under-17s and became the youngest player on Russia's squad.[23] In his debut on 25 March 2021, in the opening game against Iceland, Zakharyan was fouled in the penalty box in the 31st minute, and Russia opened scoring from the penalty kick. In the added time of the first half he scored his first goal to make the score 3–0, with the game eventually ending with a 4–1 victory for Russia. Zakharyan became the youngest goalscorer for Russia U21,[24] and the youngest goalscorer in the history of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, overtaking Yari Verschaeren.[25]

Senior

On 11 May 2021, Zakharyan received his first call-up to the senior Russia team, and was included in the preliminary extended 30-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020.[26] He suffered a tonsillitis infection in camp and was not included in the final squad.[27]

Zakharyan made his debut for the senior squad on 1 September 2021, in a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Croatia. He started the game and was substituted in the second half, as the game ended in a 0–0 draw.[28] He became the youngest outfield player in Russian national team history, aged 18 years, 3 months and 6 days, overtaking Alan Dzagoev. Zakharyan also became the second-youngest national team player overall, behind goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.[29] Both his and Akinfeev's records were beaten by Sergei Pinyayev in 2022.[30]

Style of play

Zakharyan is a versatile player and is deployed in multiple offensive positions, as a wide midfielder on either flank, attacking midfielder or central midfielder. In some games he switches positions throughout the game as the tactics demand.[31] His characteristics, such as his finishing, passing ability and playing style, have led Zakharyan to be compared with Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne.[32]

In October 2020, he was chosen as one of the 60 of the best young talents in world football among the players born in 2003 by The Guardian.[33]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 January 2024[34]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dynamo-2 Moscow 2020–21 Russian Second League 158———158
Dynamo Moscow 2020–21 Russian Premier League 1330000—133
2021–22 Russian Premier League 29752——349
2022–23 Russian Premier League 274101——375
2023–24 Russian Premier League 3121——52
Total 721517400—8919
Real Sociedad 2023–24 La Liga 120204[lower-alpha 1]0—180
Career total 992319440—12227

International

As of match played 23 March 2023[35]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Russia 202140
202220
202310
Total70

Honours

Dynamo Moscow

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Arsen Zakharyan" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Интервью отца Арсена Захаряна из "Динамо" - история детства, интересные факты, семья, почему не взяли в "Зенит"" [Interview of Arsen Zakharyan's father] (in Russian). Sport24. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  3. ↑ "Tambov v Dynamo Moscow game report". Russian Premier League. 1 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Akhmat v Dynamo game report". Russian Premier League. 28 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "Арсен Захарян забил первый гол в возрасте 17 лет и 278 дней" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 1 March 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "Арсен Захарян — ВТБ игрок месяца в феврале-марте" (in Russian). Dynamo Moscow. 25 March 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "Арсен Захарян — ВТБ игрок месяца в мае" (in Russian). Dynamo Moscow. 20 May 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Арсен Захарян — ВТБ игрок сезона" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 27 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Итоги Исполкома РФС" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 15 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Rostov v Dynamo game report". Russian Premier League. 23 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Арсен Захарян – обладатель премии «Первая пятёрка» в 2021 году" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 9 December 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Арсен Захарян — ВТБ Игрок сезона" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 10 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Гамид Агаларов – лучший молодой игрок Тинькофф РПЛ сезона 2021/22" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  14. 1 2 "Итоги Исполкома РФС" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 23 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Arsen Zakharyan stays at Dynamo". Dynamo Moscow. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  16. ↑ "Sanctions-hit VTB Bank has several plans to minimise impact on its clients". Reuters. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Арсен Захарян — ВТБ Игрок месяца в сентябре" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 1 October 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Арсен Захарян — ВТБ Игрок месяца в октябре" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 2 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Захарян едет в «Сосьедад». Сработал 20-й вариант из инсайдов" (in Russian). Sports.ru. 12 August 2023.
  20. ↑ "Dynamo v Krasnodar game report" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 9 August 2023.
  21. ↑ "«Динамо» о Захаряне и «Сосьедаде»: «Договоренность достигнута. Сегодня он улетает на медосмотр»" [Dynamo about Zakharyan and Sociedad: Agreement has been reached, he flies out for a medical today.] (in Russian). Sports.ru. 13 August 2023.
  22. ↑ "Arsen Zakharyan | Level complete, the Russian talent arrives". Real Sociedad. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  23. ↑ "Состав на молодежный чемпионат Европы" [Squad for the European Championship] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 15 March 2021.
  24. ↑ "Арсен заработал пенальти, забил шикарный гол и стал самым молодым автором гола молодёжной сборной России" (in Russian). Dynamo Moscow. 25 March 2021.
  25. ↑ "Захарян стал самым молодым автором гола в истории молодёжных чемпионатов Европы" (in Russian). Dynamo Moscow. 26 March 2021.
  26. ↑ Расширенный состав сборной России для подготовки к ЕВРО [Extended national team line-up for Euro preparations] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 11 May 2021.
  27. ↑ "Состав сборной России на ЕВРО-2020" [Russia national team line-up for EURO-2020] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 2 June 2021.
  28. ↑ "Russia v Croatia game report" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  29. ↑ "ЗАХАРЯН — САМЫЙ МОЛОДОЙ ПОЛЕВОЙ ИГРОК В ИСТОРИИ СБОРНОЙ РОССИИ" (in Russian). Match TV. 1 September 2021.
  30. ↑ "Сергей Пиняев – самый молодой дебютант сборной России" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 17 November 2022.
  31. ↑ "Захарян о победе над ЦСКА: "Пропустили первыми и не вошли в игру, но проявили характер"" (in Russian). Sport Express. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  32. ↑ "Who Is Arsen Zakharyan, The 19-Year-Old Russian Playmaker Close To Joining Chelsea". 26 August 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  33. ↑ "Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 8 October 2020.
  34. ↑ "Arsen Zakharyan". SofaScore. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  35. ↑ "Zakharyan, Arsen". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  36. ↑ "«Спартак» обыграл «Динамо» и стал 4-кратным победителем Кубка России". Premier Liga (in Russian). Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  37. ↑ "Агаларов, Сафонов и Захарян – в списке «33 лучших футболистов» сезона". Российский футбольный союз (in Russian). Retrieved 14 September 2023.
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