As Jamie Carragher shared not long ago, Arsenal know they cannot end this season with a sense of regret. Never before has the chance to win the Premier League so bright for the Gunners. And perhaps they need a few quality signatures this January to be able to compete fairly with Man City.
Arsenal still can’t finish the Mudryk case.
In recent days, the press has associated the name Arsenal with the Mykhaylo Mudryk deal. Shakhtar Donetsk’s winger was sublimated in the Champions League group stage and now the Ukrainian representative has boldly shouted Mudryk’s price up to 100 million euros.
At this point, some reports say that Arsenal’s first offer has been rejected by its partner and the Gunners sporting director Edu is initiating further high-level talks. An offer greater than the £60m figure will be sent to Shakhtar Donetsk in the next few days, although the exact figure is still unknown.
Arsenal need to hurry because unlike a month ago, Chelsea have jumped into the race after a series of poor achievements in the domestic league. The Blues are not short of money under new owner Todd Boehly and they need a push in the transfer market to get back into the top four race.
Of course, Arsenal is still the team leading the race to sign Mudryk. But unlike the summer, where there are 3 months for the Board of Directors to evaluate the goals, January is only 31 days and without a backup plan, the clubs will immediately face difficulties.
When asked about the winter transfer window after the draw with Newcastle, Arteta said: “I don’t know. That is a question for Edu and the board. We are trying to improve the squad in every transfer window. It’s no different, we’ll do our best because we can’t waste any transfer window, given the amount of staff we have, so we’ll try.”
One option Arsenal could consider at the moment is Brighton midfielder Kaoru Mitoma. After spending a loan spell in Belgium, with Union SG, with 8 goals and 4 assists, he returned to Brighton, to become the turning card for Leandro Trossard under Graham Potter.
Mitoma will be an economic option for Arsenal.
However, when coach Roberto De Zerbi took over the team, the Japanese midfielder was regularly kicked. Mitoma’s last 5 matches, he scored 3 goals and pocketed 1 assist. That achievement included a goal against Arsenal itself (it would have been 2 if it weren’t for the sensitive offside situation).
Mitoma cost Brighton £4.5m in 2021. He signed a four-year contract, meaning Mitoma’s contract will only have two years left next summer. With a wide playstyle and an extremely abundant energy source, this will be an economic deal that Arteta needs to keep an eye on if he cannot successfully recruit Mudryk.
Crouching Dragon | 23:40 05/01/2023
