Mikel Arteta reacts to Mykhaylo Mudryk watching Arsenal beat West Ham

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spoke of his delight at putting on a ‘good show’ for Mykahylo Mudryk after it emerged that the 21-year-old was watching Monday’s win over West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium. The visitors found themselves a goal up in the first half when Said Benrahma converted from the penalty spot, althoguh Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah went on to hit back after the interval to rescue all three points for the Gunners after an initially shaky start to proceedings.

Mudryk, who was reportedly the subject of an opening bid from long-term admirers Arsenal on Monday, took to Instagram to let his followers know that he was watching the match to fuel rumours that he could be set to join the north Londoners at the start of the upcoming January window. Arteta was quizzed on Mudryk’s interest in the fixture after the final whistle and replied by insisting that he was happy to have secured an important victory in front of the cameras, although he refused to directly mention the Ukraine winger himself.

“You know that I never speak about players that aren’t with us,” said Arteta in his post-match press conference. “We said we will try to find ways to strengthen the team. The good thing in England is that we’re the only ones playing through Christmas, so hopefully a lot of people are watching our game and we’ve given them a good show.”

Arsenal are widely expected to submit further bids for Mudryk if their first offer is rejected by Shakhtar, where he remains tied down until the summer of 2026 as things stand. He has previously expressed a desire to join the Gunners but it remains to be seen if they will be able to strike an agreement with his current employers over the coming days, with Mudryk only set to be made available for a move elsewhere in the event a significant offer is tabled.

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Shakhtar director Carlo Nicolini recently hinted that a minimum fee of £88million would be required to prise Mudryk away from the club next month, with Arsenal’s first bid of around £55m falling considerably short of their demands. Mudryk took it upon himself to insist that his valuation should be reduced in order to increase the likelihood of a January exit, telling Sport Arena last month that he was concerned about the possibility of his dreams being ruined by his sky-high asking price.

“I have a long-term contract with Shakhtar,” said Mudryk. “I give all my strength and energy so that Shakhtar achieves maximum results, but every football player has a dream to play in a top club and in a top championship [and] I am no exception.

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“But I am 100 per cent sure that they are unlikely to buy a player from the championship of Ukraine for 100 million [euros]. I will not hide that I was very upset. The amount of 100 million puts a barrier for my transition to the top championship, which I so dreamed of. I can’t say that my dream was killed, but wounded, that’s for sure.”

Arsenal will now be desperately hoping to negotiate a successful January move for Mudryk, who has chipped in with 10 goals and eight assists in all competitions so far this season. He is widely regarded as one of the finest emerging talents in Europe and looks destined to move on to bigger and better things at some point in the near future, with his recent performances in the Champions League for Shakhtar turning plenty of heads over the last few months.

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