Oleksandr Zinchenko Getty Images January 15, 2026, 1:28 p.m

Nottingham Forest has decided not to include the defender of the Ukrainian national team Oleksandr Zinchenko in the team’s application for the spring part of the 2025/26 Europa League.

The club officially announced that the place of the Ukrainian in the European Cup application was taken by the Nigerian player Ola Aina, who played only a few matches this season due to injuries.

29-year-old Zinchenko, whose contract belongs to Arsenal until the summer of 2026, joined the English club on loan in the fall of 2025 and managed to work with three coaches. In the current tournaments, he played ten matches, but did not stand out with productive actions. The club did not disclose the reasons for the decision to exclude the Ukrainian from the application.

After six rounds of the main stage of the Europa League, Nottingham Forest has scored 11 points and is in 11th place in the group. The team’s next matches are scheduled for January 22 against Braga and January 29 against Ferencvaros.