‘The player was pushing’: Transfer insider says ‘perfect’ winger wanted Arsenal deadline-day move

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Arsenal tried hard to bring Mykhaylo Mudryk to the Emirates Stadium on transfer deadline day, journalist Rudy Galetti has claimed.

And the player himself was pushing for a move to the Gunners, but Shakhtar Donetsk’s valuation was too high, added Galetti.

Arsenal enjoyed a fruitful transfer window overall, but they failed to bring in any late reinforcements.

Numerous reports doing the rounds suggested the Gunners were eyeing a new midfielder and/or a new winger.

Mudryk was one of the players Arsenal were reportedly targeting for a late move.

Galetti, writing on Tribal Football, provided an inside update on Arsenal’s failed pursuit of the Ukraine international.

“They tried until the very last moment, but in the end, they had to give up,” he wrote.

“Arsenal closed the summer transfer session without having purchased a winger.

“A few hours before the end of the transfers, the Gunners intensified contacts with other clubs to give Mikel Arteta one more alternative among his offensive players, but without success.

“The first attempt was made with Shakhtar Donetsk for Mykhaylo Mudryk. The player was pushing for the transfer, but the Ukrainian team did not lower the requests at about 50 million euros.

“It’s no coincidence that Shakhtar had already rejected offers of around 30 million from Everton and OGC Nice in the previous days.

“Arsenal was willing to reach the amount of around £30m and hoped that the player’s willingness would help to close the deal. But that wasn’t the case.

“Shakhtar remained stuck at €50 million, the British club decided not to raise and went for other last-minute names.”

Arsenal target Mudryk – factfile

Mudryk is a 21-year-old winger who was born in the Ukrainian city of Krasnohrad.

He began his footballing journey aged nine with Metalist Kharkiv before moving to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Mudryk stayed with Dnipro for just two years before moving on to his current side Shakhtar in 2016.

The versatile attacker took in loan spells at Arsenal Kyiv and Desna before breaking into the Shakhtar first team.

Mudryk has 29 competitive senior appearances for Shakhtar, with two goals and 10 appearances to his name.

The ‘Ukrainian Neymar’ has also won five caps for his country.

“Perfect player for teams that love to play an attacking style of football”

Foot The Ball published an in-depth scouting article on Mudryk earlier this summer.

“The 21-year-old is a skilled player that can play anywhere across the front line but prefers the left-wing,” they wrote.

“Mudryk is a perfect player for teams that love to play an attacking style of football.

“He can score goals, but his speciality lies in assists. He can find that killer pass that can split open defences.

“In addition, he can also use his skill and pace to get past defenders.”