Arsenal’s ‘style of play’ may have made the Premier League leaders a more fitting destination for Mykhaylo Mudryk than London rivals Chelsea, former Shakhtar Donetsk youth coach Andreas Carrasco tells UA Tribuna.
It took Mudryk only a couple of minutes to show the travelling Chelsea supporters what all the fuss was about. Stepping off the bench in the second half during the recent 0-0 draw with Liverpool, the Ukraine international immediately lit up a drab encounter while testing the flexibility of James Milner’s ageing hamstrings.
It will take more than the odd eye-catching cameo for Mudryk to justify his initial £62 million price-tag. But the early signs certainly look good. Tantalisingly so.
“(Chelsea) is a club that has been changing recently,” explains Carrasco, now the academy manager at Dinamo Tibilsi.
“But it is good for Mudryk to be in a club that always expects maximum results. Now, he needs to go through a period of adaptation. And only time will tell if it was the right decision for him or not.”
Chelsea beat Arsenal to the signing of Ukraine international Mykhaylo Mudryk
It is common knowledge that Arsenal were prioritising Mudryk and only ended up with Leandro Trossard after being blown out of the water by Todd Boehly’s continent-sized wallet; Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Gunners made three bids before Chelsea got their man.
Carrasco does wonder, however, if Arsenal may have been a ‘more suitable’ destination; Mikel Arteta’s attacking approach built largely around the one-v-one abilities of their rapid-fire wingers.
“Today, Arsenal, with their style of play, could be more suitable for Mudryk, who successfully uses dribbling and plays one-v-one. It would be better for him, in my opinion (to have joined Arsenal),” Carrasco adds.
“(Mudryk is) talented, very fast. His strength is his ability to play one-v-one, using his speed and dribbling.
“He is not a typical Ukrainian player. Mudryk is arguably the most talented (Ukrainian) player at the moment. And he is very different from everyone.”
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