Arsenal fans came to learn all about Mykhaylo Mudryk in January as Mikel Arteta and Edu pushed hard to sign the Ukraine international.
The Gunners submitted three bids for the 22-year-old.
It seemed as if Arsenal would get their man for a sum in the region of £80m towards the end of January, before Chelsea blew their London rivals out of the water with an £88.5m offer.
Now, Mudryk has spoken about that dramatic January saga.
What’s the story?
Well, Mudryk told Sky Sports how Oleksandr Zinchenko – his international teammate at Ukraine – jokes about Arsenal with him.
The Chelsea No.15 said: “With Zinchenko we often joke about Arsenal, Chelsea, what colour London is. But I like him, he is a very funny and very kind. We spend time always (together) in a positive way.”
Sky Sports also asked Mudryk what colour he believes London is.
Not wanting to anger his new side, the Ukrainian wonderkid sensibly responded: “Blue.”
Whether he believes that or not is arguably up for debate, as Mudryk went viral on a number of occasions after issuing pretty clear signs that he wanted to join Arsenal.
The winger posted a photo of Arteta on the screen as he watched Arsenal defeat Brighton 4-2 in December, calling the Spaniard a “top coach” while also liking a post from Arsenal Fan TV calling on Edu to strike an agreement.
Mudryk also liked a photo of himself behind bars as Arsenal fans began their #FreeMudryk campaign, and again took a picture of the screen while tuning in as the Gunners beat West Ham 3-1 in December.
Interestingly, he also posted a praying emoji after Arsenal’s third bid was submitted.
At the risk of being overly speculative – based on the fact he didn’t post about Chelsea once – it does seem as if Mudryk didn’t get the move he wanted.
When Mudryk faces Arsenal
Arteta will come up against his January target on Saturday 29th April when Chelsea travel to the Emirates Stadium.
It would be a major storyline if Mudryk played a part in denting Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes after everything that happened in January – to say the least.
Hopefully – for the sake of his and Zinchenko’s friendship – that doesn’t turn out to be the case.
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