Why Arsenal should still sign Mykhailo Mudryk

It is no secret that Arsenal were huge admirers of Mykhailo Mudryk when he was at Shakhtar Donetsk. Back in January 2023, it looked almost guaranteed that the Ukrainian international would join the club. That was until Chelsea swooped in at the last minute and signed Mudryk for £88.5m.

Since then, it is safe to say that Mudryk’s career has stalled. After missing out on Mudryk, Arsenal signed Leandro Trossard from Brighton who has gone on to star for the club, registering 23 G/A in 53 games. Meanwhile, Mudryk has only netted four in 43 for Chelsea, as well as adding five assists.

It looks as if the Gunners got the better deal, but should Arsenal try and steal Mudryk from Chelsea this summer?

Why Arsenal should still sign Mykhailo Mudryk

During his time at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has signed Declan Rice, Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel and Leandro Trossard to name just a few. All of these signings have helped drastically improve the standard of not just the starting 11, but the squad as a whole. With Arsenal still needing proper competition for Bukayo Saka (and to a lesser extent Martinelli thanks to Trossard), there is no need to look any further than Mudryk.

While not every signing has been a hit, more often than not if Mikel Arteta wants a player you should get excited. The fact that the club were so desperate to sign Mudryk before he joined Chelsea showed that Arteta and Edu trusted in Mudryk’s ability. From time to time that ability is very visible at Chelsea, but for whatever reason, it is not consistent.

One reason may be the pressure. The publicity around the Mudryk deal was immense. The price tag of £88.5m only added to the expectation that Mudryk would be an instant hit. The Ukrainian was untested in Europe’s top leagues and was brought into the absolute mess that is the current Chelsea team.

Let's not forget that the forward had made it blatantly obvious on social media that he wanted to join Arsenal. In fact, the player was 'devastated' that Shakhtar's deal with Arsenal fell through and supposedly rang the club in tears while on his way to sign for Chelsea.

I am confident that had Mudryk joined Arsenal the story would be completely different, and I still believe that potential can be found under Arteta. Mudryk scored 12 goals and assisted 17 for his previous team Shakhtar Donetsk in 44 appearances. He was direct and his control at high speeds made him a nightmare to defend against. 

We have seen it before when an upcoming talent joined Chelsea before his career stalled. Take a look at our very own Kai Havertz. He may not have reached the heights of his career at Bayer Leverkusen yet, but Havertz has steadily grown into his role at the club and is beginning to re-emerge at the Emirates.

His movement and build-up play have been vital, including his aerial ability at the top of the pitch. Sometimes his decision-making has been too slow and he has been guilty of missing chances, but anyone can see that Havertz has already proved and will continue to prove that he was a successful Arteta signing.

If Arteta can revive the career of Havertz, why can’t he do the same with Mudryk? That level of potential and ability does not simply disappear after one year. Somewhere, that talent is waiting to be re-discovered.

For a reasonable price tag, Arsenal should sign Mykhailo Mudryk this summer and prove to the world why we were so desperate to sign him in the first place.

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