Arsenal will reportedly reignite their interest in Shakhtar Donetsk star Mykola Matvienko as the Gunners look set to miss out on the signing of Lisandro Martinez to Manchester United.
According to the Daily Mail, the Gunners have shifted their attentions to the 26-year-old Ukrainian international, who Mikel Arteta was interested in signing in the 2020 winter transfer window, with the Basque manager instead landing Pablo Mari from Flamengo as his first ever signing as Arsenal boss.
Two years later, and Arteta is reportedly keen to offload Mari after spending half of last season on loan at Udinese, with Ajax star Martinez lined up as a replacement for the Spaniard. However, as per reports, United are set to beat Arsenal to the Argentine’s signature in a deal worth £45m.
And now, Arsenal could return to Shakhtar to sign Matvienko, who could technically join the north London side for free due to a loophole in a temporary FIFA ruling that allows players contracted to Russian and Ukrainian sides to suspend their deals with their respective clubs and move elsewhere based on the current conflict in eastern Europe.
Indeed, clubs have still been paying transfer fees to Ukrainian sides in acts of good faith to financially aid them during these distressing times, and Arsenal could do something similar with Shakhtar for Matvienko, who would cost much less than the £45m United are paying to sign Martinez.
With Arsenal looking for versatile defensive cover for the centre-back and left-back positions, Matvienko makes a lot of sense as a summer signing given his strong reputation with Shakhtar and experience with Ukraine’s national team, and in a financial sense, the 26-year-old could be a better deal than if the north London side landed Martinez.
Matvienko ticks every box Arsenal needs for a defensive signing
Arsenal have been somewhat chaotic this summer in their summer transfer targets, with approaches for Raphinha and Martinez exciting yet odd given how much the players would have cost despite their roles as rotational squad members, which is why Matvienko makes so much sense as a new signing.
The Ukrainian is versatile to play in two key positions for Arsenal and has the CV to impress in the defence, and with Shakhtar looking to sell, Matvienko is a brilliant alternative to Martinez given that the Gunners still need more players in the remaining areas.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
