Almost four months on from when Mykhailo Mudryk was spotted in the stands at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace, the Ukrainian is still without a goal for his new club.
The 22-year-old signed a long-term contract with the Blues after a move from Shakhtar Donetsk that will eventually be worth just short of £90million. However, almost four months following his arrival, Mudryk has failed to make too much of a positive impact on the pitch for Chelsea as we head into the final games of his first season – albeit a half-season – with the club.
Mudryk has only 487 Premier League minutes under his belt, with just five starts in the top-flight since moving to west London. The 90 minutes he played against Brighton last month in the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge is the only time he has completed a full match since moving from his homeland. It's also his only start in the Premier League since Frank Lampard took interim charge of the club last month.
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Tonight (Tuesday) sees Chelsea make the short trip to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium to face the Gunners, who are still bidding for the Premier League title. The Blues and their city rivals have had contrasting seasons but the west Londoners managed to come out on top when the pair went head-to-head for the signature of Mudryk in the January transfer window.
Arsenal looked clear favourites for the Ukraine international all month long but Chelsea came out of virtually nowhere to land the talented winger. The Gunners ended up signing Leandro Trossard from Brighton instead and the Belgian has been a revelation since moving to the Emirates.
Mudryk's first few months in English football may have been so different if he had have gone to Arsenal instead. The expectancy and pressure simply would not have been as immense because of the form the Gunners have shown this season and their position in the league.
Remember, Mudryk more than anyone else in the world will be wanting to prove himself in England. He has faced heaps of criticism, something that was bound to happen if he made a slow start in the Premier League after his big-money move.
Tonight, though, could be the time for Mudryk to really announce himself at Chelsea and who better to do it against than one of the club's biggest rivals who almost signed him a few months ago? The way Arsenal play could also bring the best out of the former Shakhtar winger.
The Gunners have been playing with a high-line all season as they look to press from the front and suffocate the opposition with their running off the ball. It does, though, sometimes leave them vulnerable to the counter-attack. Arsenal are expected to have a lot of possession tonight so should there be a turnover, the Chelsea attackers have to be ready to exploit the space that is bound to be behind the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes and Rob Holding.
With William Saliba, their quickest centre-back missing as well, it could be a serious chance for Mudryk. We haven't really seen too much of the winger against sides that have more of the ball. Usually he has been played against a low-block and that's been difficult for him thus far but that won't be the case should he start against Arsenal.
Could tonight finally be the night for Mudryk? He would be a very popular starter among Chelsea supporters when the line-ups are confirmed at around 7pm.
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