Mikel Arteta has aimed a sly dig at Chelsea after Arsenal missed out on the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk. The 22-year-old was heavily linked with a move to the Gunners at the start of month but, once Todd Boehly heard of his rivals interest, the Blues swooped in and hijacked the deal.
Talks between the north Londoners and Shakhtar Donetsk were thought to have been progressing well, with Edu tabling an opening bid in the region of £55million in late December, football.london understands. Arsenal remained in contact with the Ukrainian side and, as recently as Friday, there was confidence that they were going to welcome Mudryk to the Emirates Stadium.
But then, on Saturday, Chelsea submitted a bid of their own which was thought to be around €70million (£62m), including €30million (£26m) incentivised add-ons. And, the rest was history — just hours later Mudryk was unveiled to Blues fan at Stamford Bridge with a Ukraine flag draped over his shoulders.
