Arsenal wanted Mykhaylo Mudryk in August and simply cannot afford to miss out after his demolition of RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.
The Gunners went into the market for a winger before last week’s transfer deadline.
Allowing Nicolas Pepe to leave on loan to Nice has left Mikel Arteta a little short of quality options out wide.
Edu had a look at some potential signings but left deadline day empty-handed – and he just has to hope that he hasn’t missed out on a sensational.
Arsenal wanted Mykhaylo Mudryk
The main name in the frame for Arsenal ahead of the deadline was Ukrainian ace Mudryk.
Fabrizio Romano reported that Arsenal had made contact to explore a potential last-gasp deal for Mudryk.
However, the deadline passed without any deal being done with Arsenal preferring to wait on a new wide man.
Reports from The Athletic suggest that Arsenal have received glowing reports about Mudryk’s talent and character, meaning a January move could be in the pipeline.
If Arsenal needed any indication that Mudryk is going to become a star, then they certainly received it on Tuesday night.
Shakhtar headed away to RB Leipzig in their Champions League group stage opener, with few really expecting them to win in Germany.
Shakhtar were sensational though and winger Mudryk was the real thorn in Leipzig’s side.
Mudryk caused absolute mayhem, driving at the Leipzig defence with speed and exceptional dribbling, setting up Marian Shved to make it 2-1.
Mudryk then raced clear to make it 3-1 himself with a lovely left-footed finish, and the 21-year-old bagged another assist by finding Lassina Traore for 4-1.
Leipzig simply couldn’t handle Mudryk; so quick, so direct, always seemingly making the right decision in the final third.
When Leipzig play, you expect it all to be about Christopher Nkunku; the Frenchman was ridiculous last season and is a threat to score at any time.
Yet on Tuesday night, Mudryk absolutely overshadowed Nkunku and announced himself as one of the top young wingers in world football.
Many other clubs will now fancy signing Mudryk and Arsenal fans may fear that they have already missed their chance by not signing him last week.
Edu will hope that the long game pays off though and Tuesday’s display should certainly tempt Arsenal into making that January move – even if it means Mudryk seeing out the campaign on loan at Shakhtar.
For now, it’s over to Reiss Nelson and Marquinhos to try and support Bukayo Saka, but if Arsenal really want another game-changing signing, Mudryk is their man.
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