Manchester United disrupted Arsenal’s summer transfer plans when they signed Lisandro Martinez from Ajax, despite the Gunners being heavily interested. But, Edu has an excellent chance to exact revenge on the club’s old rivals.
According to The Athletic, Arsenal's priority was Martinez due to the 24-year-old's ability to play at centre-back and left-back. Martinez was reportedly keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium, and Ajax are rumoured to have had rejected a bid in the region of £25million.
However, Manchester United swooped in and signed the Argentine for a fee believed to be £56.7million, which left the Gunners unable to sign a player in this position during the summer. However, with January fast approaching, Edu has the chance to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk following similar interest from Erik ten Hag.
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According to Sun Sport, the Red Devils have joined Arsenal in the race to sign the Ukrainian international. Ten Hag is reported to be a big fan of the winger as he was on Ajax’s shortlist whilst he was still manager of the Dutch club.
Despite the reported interest from Ten Hag, it seems as though Mikel Arteta has the upper hand in securing his signature. This comes after Mudryk made an admission about his admiration for Arsenal.
Speaking to CBS Sports, he said: "I think every guy dreams about the Premier League. It's hard to say [who his preferred move is] but Arsenal is a very good team, very good coach, I like the way they play."
When asked if he would make a move to the Emirates Stadium he said: "From my side, I can't say no [to Arsenal]. But the transfer is not only my decision."
He also spoke in an interview with Vlada Sedan, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s wife, and the 21-year-old suggested the amount of interest from Arsenal supporters was not something he expected.
"One surprise for me was how many Arsenal fans followed me," Mudryk told Sedan. "No other club’s fans have interacted as much as them. Telling me that they are waiting for me, saying 'come to us'. One of my recent posts has over 500 comments saying that."
According to TalkSPORT, Mudryk is understood have held ‘positive talks’ over a potential move to Arsenal in January. Shakhtar Donetsk's deputy Sporting Director Carlo Nicolini spoke on a potential deal vis Calciomercato. He said: “Arsenal and Manchester City are two teams that have taken an interest but there are also other clubs.
"We value Mudryk more than Antony of Manchester United, who cost €100million (£86million).”
The winger has had a phenomenal start to the season by scoring three goals and also assisting on two occasions in the Champions League group stage, with his team narrowly missing out on qualification from their group behind Real Madrid and RB Leipzig. In all competitions he has 16 goal involvements in 16 games.
And with Mudryk constantly referring to Arsenal in his interviews, in a more positive manner, it gives Edu the perfect chance to exact revenge on Manchester United by beating the Red Devils to a key transfer target.
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