Oleksandr Zinchenko loses court battle and is forced to close business after Arsenal star's unpaid tax bill saga ends in defeat

Zinchenko's company, Alex Zinchenko Image Rights, had been the focus of tax officials over an unpaid tax bill worth thousands of pounds. As per the Mirror, the company's latest accounts showed a tax liability of £893,133 in 2023 and £834,164 the previous year. The defender also had a £1.8million loan from the business. The court heard this week that a settlement has been reached and the business is set to close in March.

The amount of tax owed was never made public at the hearing but HMRC had initiated proceedings to shut down the company in September 2024. The Sun reports that the Ukrainian, who is on a £150k-per-week contract at the Gunners, was a company director and was the only person to hold a share until November 3.

Zinchenko has struggled for minutes this season at Arsenal. The signing of Riccardo Calafiori in the summer limited him to a mere deputy role at left-back before the revelation of 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly only relegated him further down the pecking order. Competing also with Kieran Tierney for limited minutes, it had been expected that Zinchenko would leave the club in January - but a move never materialised.

It remains to be seen how many more minutes Zinchenko will play this season. The Gunners host West Ham next Saturday hoping to keep applying pressure to Liverpool but it is unlikely the Ukrainian will be granted a start, or even a chance off the bench.