This week has seen fresh developments regarding Mykhaylo Mudryk's potential move to Arsenal during the January transfer window.
As reported by football.london on Boxing Day, prior to the Gunners' 3-1 win over West Ham United, an official bid believed to be in the region of £55m including add-ons had been submitted to Shakhtar Donetsk as Mikel Arteta aims to bolster his attacking options for the second half of the season.
Although, as the aforementioned bid falls short of the Ukrainian side's £85m asking price, the offer, as expected, is understood to have been rejected. With that said, Arsenal are hopeful of still getting the deal done but it remains to be seen if Shakhtar are willing to soften their stance, especially with Mudryk keen on a move.
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Amid Mudryk's social media post showing he was watching the Arsenal game on Monday as well as news of a first bid, in true fashion Arteta was rather coy when talking about the possibility of signing the Ukraine international next month: "You know that I never speak about players who are not with us. I understand that you have to ask me the question," he told reporters.
"We said that we will try and find ways to strengthen the team [if] we find the right players and that’s what I can say. The good thing in England is that you don’t have many other matches in other countries at Christmas so hopefully a lot of people watched our game and we gave them a good show."
Interestingly, the Guardian have reported that Shakhtar, a team notoriously tough to negotiate with, are holding out for £85m to part company with Mudryk, so it might be a case of Arsenal needing to smash their transfer record - currently £72m for Nicolas Pepe - to get sign their priority January target.
If an agreement can be reached, what type of player would the Gunners be getting? Well, as per the website Football Talent Scout, Mudryk's main strengths are dribbling, technique, ball control, versatility, pace and acceleration. In addition, his first touch, creativity and being both-footed are strong parts of his game.
Meanwhile, his playing style is described as someone who is very strong in 1v1 situations, extremely dangerous on the counter thanks to his pace and acceleration and has a natural eye for goal which is evidenced with 10 goals across all competitions for Shakhtar Donetsk so far this season.
All of this describes an exciting forward who would no doubt be a valuable addition to the Arsenal first-team squad if a deal can be agreed as Mudryk could challenge the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and a fit again Emile Smith Rowe for a starting berth on either flank.
But there are some weaknesses that Mudryk needs to work on if he is to fulfill his potential - which is understandable at only 21 years of age and plenty of time to develop. Defensive contributions and aerial duels are listed as the two weak points in his game right now.
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