Next month, Arsenal and Chelsea go head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium in what could be a decisive match in the Premier League title race. If things had panned out differently, Mykhailo Mudryk could have been lining up against Graham Potter's side to help the Gunners in their title tilt.
Instead, the winger will be in the opposition camp after Todd Boehly swooped in for the Arsenal target in January. Despite previously indicating a desire to join Arsenal, Mudryk arrived at Stamford Bridge after the Blues matched the £88.5million asking price.
After missing out on the signing, having refused to pay over the odds for the 22-year-old, Edu and co. instead turned to Brighton's Leandro Trossard and brought him to north London for less than a third of the transfer fee asked by Shakhtar Donetsk. Perhaps one key draw for Mudryk to line-up for Mikel Arteta's side was the possibility of playing alongside Ukraine compatriot Oleksandr Zinchenko.
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The pair have appeared alongside each other for their national side a handful of times, most recently against Ireland last June. However, the January transfer fiasco could have led to a frosty relationship between the duo when they meet up for international duty.
Both have been called up for Ukraine's match against England this month as their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign gets underway. This is the first international break since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the first since Mudryk became a Chelsea player.
Any suggestions of bad blood between the Premier League rivals appear to have been put to bed after a video emerged on the official Ukraine Association of Football Twitter page. Accompanying the post with a caption of Mudryk and Zinchenko either side of a handshake emoji, the video shows a snippet of them pairing up for a training exercise in the build-up to the England clash.
With long international careers likely ahead for both, they will be keen on putting their club differences aside to maximise their Ukraine potential.
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