Mikel Arteta tipped to reignite interest in £89m target who snubbed Arsenal move

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Chelsea icon Pat Nevin has now suggested that Arsenal could come back to the table over a deal for Mykhailo Mudryk.

It is no secret that, back in January, Mikel Arteta was desperate to bring Mykhailo Mudryk to the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners even lodged a bid worth £80 million to Shakhtar Donetsk, as reported by The Guardian.

Then, Chelsea entered the race for the Ukrainian ace’s signature. The Blues struck a deal worth £88.5 million to secure the attacker’s services. 

According to The Athletic, Arsenal matched Chelsea’s offer, but it was not enough. Mudryk arrived at Stamford Bridge, and Arsenal turned their attentions elsewhere, bringing in Leandro Trossard later on in that same January transfer window. 

However, Mudryk has failed to hit the ground running in the Premier League. The 22-year-old has struggled to nail down a regular starting berth, has looked short on confidence, and has been poor in front of goal. With 32 Chelsea appearances now under his belt, across all competitions, he has netted just twice. One of those strikes came against Arsenal earlier this season.

Ultimately, so far at least, Mudryk has absolutely failed to live up to his price tag.

This has led Pat Nevin to speculate as to whether Chelsea might already consider trying to cut their losses on the player. The former winger, who made over 200 appearances for the West London outfit, feels that the Gunners could still hold a candle for Mudryk.

Speaking on the Off The Ball podcast, he said, “you’re suddenly thinking how do the finances work? They need that centre-forward, but they may not be able to afford it because of the rules just now. But some of their players may have interest from others. Arsenal might still look at Mudryk and think we can make a player out of him. I wouldn’t want to sell Mudryk, but they need to start thinking along those lines because it can’t go on forever.”

Should Arsenal consider a second go at signing Mykhailo Mudryk?

One thing is certain: there is no way that Arsenal would pay anything like what Chelsea initially shelled out to lure Mudryk away from Shakhtar Donetsk. In order to move the player on at this stage, the Blues would have to accept recording a hefty loss.

Putting the financials aside, though, Arteta clearly recognised something in the player that he was willing to smash Arsenal’s then-record transfer fee for. Whatever it was that he saw has not come to fruition in English football so far, but the Spanish coach would surely still back himself to unlock the 16-cap Ukraine international’s potential.

Mudryk has all the raw attributes required to be a star. He has blistering pace, strength, and makes smart runs. He is clearly still raw, but the ingredients are all there.

Arteta is not the only figure at Arsenal who has shown faith in Mudryk, either. His compatriot Oleksandr Zinchenko has also talked up his quality. 

It is hard to imagine the Gunners making a move for Mudryk any time soon. However, if he continues to struggle at Chelsea, it would be wise not to rule the prospect out entirely. After all, Arteta was willing to wait for David Raya, and was open to trying to get the best out of Kai Havertz after his own mixed period at Chelsea.