It’s that time of year when transfer speculation rockets and although Arsenal fans have already received an early Christmas present with the team sitting top of the league, they will also be hoping to get a late one too.
That’s because links to exciting talents such as Danilo and Mykhaylo Mudryk continue to do the rounds, with the latter very much viewed as the preferred signing by supporters ahead of the January window.
From Arsenal’s interest back in the summer to the player himself admitting it would be difficult to turn the Gunners down, there are so many reasons as to why the Ukrainian international is a serious candidate to strengthen Mikel Arteta’s squad next month.
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The main obstacles for any team looking to sign Mudryk are likely to be price and competition after a number of European clubs showed an interest thanks to his impressive performances for Shakhtar Donetsk.
As a result, his price tag was increased to around £87million according to reports and Shakhtar's director of football Darijo Srna claimed that any club must pay “huge, huge, huge money” in order to land Mudryk "otherwise the president of the club will not sell him".
However, despite there being obstacles to overcome, Arsenal could benefit from Mudryk’s public admiration for them, potentially softening Shakhtar Donetsk’s stance in the process.
Arteta tends to remain tight-lipped when it comes to transfer links, but a comment on Reddit suggests he finally let slip what’s really happening behind the scenes.
The Spaniard was spotted alongside sporting director Edu and non-executive director Tim Lewis at the NFL match between Kroenke-owned LA Rams and Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. After taking a picture with Arteta, a supporter claims he asked him if Arsenal will sign Mudryk to which he apparently replied with a smile: “We’re trying.”
It’s said Arteta has been keen on adding further quality and depth to Arsenal’s frontline since the loan departure of Nicolas Pepe in the summer, but a huge injury blow to Gabriel Jesus during the World Cup is sure to increase the need for attacking reinforcements.
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