The January transfer window may be less than a week old, but Arsenal's pursuit of Shakhtar Donestk forward Mykhaylo Mudryk already feels like quite the saga.
The Gunners are clearly interested in the 22-year-old Ukrainian international, but the interest may be even stronger in the other direction. Mudryk has made little secret of his desire to don the famous red and white shirt, taking to social media on a number of occasions to drop some not-so-subtle hints that would suggest he is desperate to become an Arsenal player this month.
However, the deal is taking a tad longer than many of the parties involved would like due to Shakhtar's willingness to hold out for the astronomical asking price they have slapped on Mudryk. The Ukrainian giants want £88m before bidding farewell to their prized asset.
While Arsenal are seemingly uninterested in forking out that much on a relatively unproven prospect, Chelsea's attempts to hijack the move could spark those at the top of the Gunners' hierarchy to spring into life. With that being said, the Blues want assurances from Mudryk that he actually wants to join them instead of Arsenal.
As mentioned, his Instagram activity alone is enough to prove that doesn't appear to be the case and in fact, Mudryk has his heart set on a move to north London.
Mirror Football has identified the four times the winger has made it clear he wants to become the latest addition to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal project.
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The most obvious, 'on the nose' post so far is surely when Mudryk uploaded footage of Arsenal's third goal against West Ham on Boxing Day to his Instagram story, accompanied with flame emojis.
After that contest, Arteta was pressed for a comment on the fact Mudryk was watching, though he simply replied: "We are the only ones playing through Christmas so hopefully, a lot of people watched our game and we gave them a good show."
It was a similar story come New Year's Eve when the Gunners made the trip to Brighton, now managed by Mudryk's former coach in Roberto De Zerbi.
Arsenal ran out 4-2 winners, with Mudryk taking to Instagram once again to upload a snap of the managers of both sides alongside the caption 'two top coaches'.
It remains to be seen just how far flattery will get him when trying to force through his move to the Gunners.
Though the wide-man is full of compliments for Arsenal, it would seem as if he is starting to harbour some resentment towards the side he actually plays for in Shakhtar.
On not one but two occasions, Mudryk has 'liked' mocked-up images showing him in a prison cell with the Shakhtar crest in, implying he is being kept at the club against his will despite the fact those at the top are well aware of his desire to leave.
On both occasions, the pictures have been accompanied by the hashtag 'FreeMudryk' - which could anger his current bosses and potentially hinder his chances of an exit any time soon, unless Arsenal spend big.
