Arsenal technical director Edu and Mikel Arteta were always convinced by Mykhailo Mudryk's talent, The Athletic reports. They believed he could provide them with another flying winger to complement Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
And had he arrived at Arsenal, we might have seen a very different player. The step from Ukrainian football to the Premier League is a tough one, but Arsenal had a clear plan for the winger. They knew he would need patience and development. Who knows how Mudryk would have developed in a more stable environment and with a more established tactical model than what he found at Chelsea?
Throughout the saga, Mudryk made no secret of his preferred destination. When the deal failed to materialise, Arsenal understood that the player was devastated.
You can't help but wonder how different things would have been had he got the move he wanted. Mudryk still has admirers at Arsenal who believe that his audacious talent can still be unlocked.
Whether it will ever happen in the Premier League is another matter, and as far as joining Arsenal is concerned, that ship seems to have sailed.
