Thierry Henry responds when asked if Arsenal should have paid the money to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk

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Thierry Henry has been asked for his thoughts on whether Arsenal should have paid the money required to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk.

The Gunners were in long negotiations with the Ukrainian international throughout January, before he suddenly joined Chelsea.

It seemed clear that if Arsenal had paid up, Mudryk would have moved to north London, and he made no secret of his affection for the club.

Henry was asked on CBS Sports whether the board should have backed Mikel Arteta last month to the tune of the money required to get Mudryk.

Henry asked whether Arsenal should have paid up for Mudryk in January

Henry was on punditry duty alongside Jamie Carragher, and here is how the conversation went:

Henry: “Arsenal, we don’t have the depth of Man City, that is for sure.”

Carragher: ‘Do you think they made a mistake not spending more money in January?’

Henry: “Who? They go about their business a certain way. So I don’t think they buy a player for the sake of buying one. Maybe they were targeting one they couldn’t get. They go with what they can target. They went and got Jorginho. I don’t think they wanted Jorginho right from the start.

“It happens. I still think we’re short but they don’t just go and get players for the sake of it.”

Carragher: ‘Mudryk was the one they wanted, it was just that they didn’t offer him enough money. Do you think the board should have backed him? I don’t see Arsenal being in this position next season, five or six points clear at halfway.’

Henry: “That was a lot of money to buy Mudryk for that. Was he going to have an impact straight away on that team? They went for Trossard that knows the league, been there a long time, can adapt quicker and better. I wish we had more points, the Brentford game was massive.”

Arsenal had their valuations for players in the January window and they were stringent in their desire to stick to them come what may.

The Gunners have transformed their culture under Arteta by trying not to spend silly money on players and they did that again last month.

They have not got first choice players in the transfer market over other transfer windows and it has still created a hugely successful squad, and Arteta now has to get his new recruits up to speed as soon as he can.