Former Arsenal scout Pavel Kucherov admits he told the Gunners to sign Andriy Yarmolenko before Premier League rivals West Ham United paid £17 million for the former Borussia Dortmund attacker, speaking to FanDay.
Who knows how Yarmolenko’s West Ham career would have developed had he not suffered what turned out to the first of so many injuries just weeks after arriving at the London Stadium?
Before rupturing his Achilles tendon in October 2018, the Ukraine international had scored twice in a 3-1 win away at Everton while tearing Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United apart on a thrilling afternoon in the capital.
He would never hit those same heights again. At least, not with any level of consistency. Yarmolenko would start only 12 more league matches before leaving West Ham on a free transfer last the summer.
Arsenal told to sign Andriy Yarmolenko before he joined West Ham United
“In general, I believe injuries are the most difficult aspect of a player’s life,” Yarmolenko’s wife explains.
“And Andriy had a rather serious injury for almost a year. Psychologically, for him, it was a big blow. He had just moved to a strong league, everything worked out for him. (Then) the most difficult injury of his life.”
We will never know whether the same misfortune would have befallen Yarmolenko down the road at Arsenal. Kucherov worked as a scout at the Emirates between 2014 and 2017. During that time, he recommended that Arsenal sign a forward with no fewer than four Ukrainian Player of the Year awards on his CV.
“When I worked in the scouting department of Arsenal, I advised them (to sign) Yarmolenko,” Kucherov recalls. “The Gunners were looking for a winger at the time.”
Yarmolenko, who could also have joined Everton before landing at West Ham, is now in the UAE with Al Ain. With eight goals or assists in just 12 games, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo has a lot to do if he wants to become the most prosperous, 30-something forward in the Middle East.
Yarmolenko is not the only Ukraine interanational Kucherov brought to Arsenal’
“I also strongly recommended (Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy) Lunin to Arsenal,” the scout adds. “When he played for Dnipro. I said that such a cool guy must be signed. As you can see, I wasn’t mistaken. Now, he is at Real Madrid.”
Lunin, a back-up to Thibout Courtois, won a La Liga and Champions League double in 2021/22.
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