According to reports, Chelsea flop Mykhaylo Mudryk was ‘devastated’ when Arsenal failed to sign him during the 2023 winter transfer window.
Arsenal and Chelsea battled to sign Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk and he ended up heading to Stamford Bridge for an initial fee of around £62m.
The Ukraine international flirted with the Gunners in the weeks leading up to the 2023 January transfer window and a move to the Emirates looked most likely before Chelsea hijacked the deal.
Mikel Arteta’s side have dodged a bullet with Mudryk as alternative target Leandro Trossard has fared brilliantly since his move to Arsenal last year.
Mudryk meanwhile has struggled at Chelsea and has just three goals in his 34 Premier League appearances. He was linked with a shock move to Bayern Munich last month but Arsenal and Juventus have since been described as the ‘main candidates’ to sign the winger if he leaves the Blues.
A report from The Athletic claims Mudryk ‘did not hide his preferred destination’ during last year’s transfer saga and was ‘devastated’ when his move to Arsenal did not go through.
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Regarding Arsenal’s belief in Mudryk, the report adds: ‘Technical director Edu and Arteta were utterly convinced of Mudryk’s talent. They believed he could provide them with a third flying winger to complement Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
‘Mudryk still has admirers at Arsenal, who believe his audacious talent can still be unlocked. Whether it will ever happen in the Premier League is another question and as far as joining Arsenal goes, that ship appears to have sailed.’
Ex-Arsenal star Paul Merson has hit out at Chelsea’s players as ‘a lot of them are not good enough’ to play for the Premier League club.
‘A lot of the players are not good enough to play for Chelsea Football Club, yet they are sitting on eight-year deals,’ Merson wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
‘It’s not long ago that Chelsea won the Champions League. People talk about the success of the club like it was 20 years ago. They won the Champions League three years ago, but the club are still asking for patience from the fans. It’s just not good enough.
‘The main problem with Chelsea is that Pochettino has come into a club that has spent a lot of money to bring a lorry load of players in on eight-year contracts.
‘The people that bought these players in: what were you thinking? We need to know but I’ve never heard any of them give an interview. All I hear is Mauricio Pochettino having to justify it, but he never bought these players in. He just got the manager’s job and has had to deal with the situation he finds himself in.
‘But now they are stuck, and because of the mess they are in it looks like they will have to go and sell one of their best players in Conor Gallagher to get out of it. He’s come through the ranks, he’s a homegrown player and one of the club’s own, but he’ll make them a profit in terms of the Profit and Sustainability Rules. It’s shocking.’
