The much-anticipated signing of Mykhaylo Mudryk remained one of the main talking points surrounding Arsenal last night, despite the club unveiling its new artwork for the Emirates Stadium.
A special reveal event was held in London, which was attended to by hundreds of people including former players, celebrities and supporters. Eight separate designs were put on display for the first time and will adorn the Emirates Stadium walls in the coming weeks.
One of those in attendance was Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, who took part in media duties throughout the event. While much of the discussion was centred around the stadium revamp and the current season, reporter’s couldn’t resist asking the question on everyone’s mind - what’s happening with Mudryk?
READ MORE: Mykhaylo Mudryk to Arsenal transfer: Shakhtar message, contract 'agreed', £88million twist
Venkatesham's interview with American news channel CNN was no exception, with anchor Richard Quest asking him directly about the player: "The fans will certainly be interested on the murals, they’ll be even more interested if you bring Mykhaylo Mudryk to Arsenal. Where do we stand on that? Have you got your chequebook ready?"
"Well you will not be surprised to hear that I’m not going to talk about individual players," Venkatesham replied. "But of course, we are in a transfer window at the moment, Edu Gaspar has a long-term plan around how we want to strengthen our squad and whenever a transfer window is open, there’s an opportunity for us and of course we are always looking to see if there’s an opportunity that makes sense for us. If an opportunity makes sense for us, we will do it and January is no different from any other transfer window."
Quest then asked Venkatesham to "define what makes sense" for the Gunners this month, citing the club’s title and Champions League ambitions.
"Well of course you are right, we’ve had a great start to the season," Venkatesham said. "We’re only halfway through, we’ll take each game as it comes, stay humble and see what we can do, trying to win every game as we go.
"In terms of the transfer window and your specific question, in terms of what makes sense, it’s always the same equation. Can we find a player that we think is going to really add something to the squad and can we find a player where we think the price of that player makes sense. When those two things make sense, then we’ll make a move. When something doesn’t make sense, we need to be patient."
It would not come as a surprise if Venkatesham’s emphasis on needing patience is related to the Mudryk deal considering Arsenal have been in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk for some time.
football.london understands the Gunners have submitted two bids for the winger, the first being £55million including add-ons. However, Shakhtar have remained reluctant to soften their stance as they hold out for a fee closer to their valuation of around £88million. There are now suggestions though that progress is being made between the two clubs as they finally look to find an agreement over the fee and structure of payments.
READ NEXT:
Mykhaylo Mudryk conditions for debut as Odegaard and Arsenal stars recalled for Tottenham clash
Shakhtar Donetsk release Mykhaylo Mudryk footage after update for £88m Arsenal transfer
Arsenal reveal hidden details for new Emirates Stadium artwork as legends and supporters feature
Arsenal's Danilo U-turn could land Mikel Arteta a major summer transfer coup amid Edu interest
Arsenal 'ready' bid for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as Lazio make £35.5m transfer decision
