Arsen Zakharyan

Arsen Norayrovich Zakharyan (Арсен Норайрович Захарян; Արսեն Նորայրի Զախարյան; born 26 May 2003) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for 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, Azerbaijan to Russia after the First Karabakh War (1992–1994).

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. 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. He became the third-youngest Dynamo player to score a goal in the Russian Premier League, after Aleksandr Kokorin and Pyotr Nemov.

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

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. On 9 December 2021, the Russian Premier League awarded him as the league's best under-21 player of 2021.

Zakharyan was voted player of the season by Dynamo fans for the second season in a row. 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. The RFS also named him best young player and the best left midfielder of the 2021–22 season.

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". 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. He was voted player of the month by Dynamo fans for September 2022 and October 2022.

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. 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. 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.

Real Sociedad
On 19 August 2023, La Liga club Real Sociedad announced the signing of Zakharyan, contract with the club until 30 June 2029. On 15 March 2024, Zakharyan scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 league win over Cádiz.

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. 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, and the youngest goalscorer in the history of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, overtaking Yari Verschaeren.

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. He suffered a tonsillitis infection in camp and was not included in the final squad.

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. He became the youngest outfield player in Russian national team history, aged 18 years, 3 months, 13 days, overtaking Alan Dzagoev. Zakharyan also became the second-youngest national team player overall, behind goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. Both his and Akinfeev's records were beaten by Sergei Pinyayev in 2022.

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. His characteristics, such as his finishing, passing ability and playing style, have led Zakharyan to be compared with Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne.

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.

Honours
Dynamo Moscow
 * Russian Cup: runner-up: 2021–22

Individual
 * Dynamo Moscow Player of the Month: February 2021, March 2021, May 2021, September 2022, October 2022
 * Dynamo Moscow Best Player of the Season : 2020–21, 2021–22
 * RFS Best Young Player of the Season: 2021–22
 * Russian Premier League Left Winger of the Season: 2021–22