Shakhtar criticise Arsenal's Mudryk tactics
Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin has opened up on how Chelsea beat Arsenal to the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk this month – despite the Gunners being strongly linked to the player.
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash“Arsenal contacted the player almost one and a half months before they contacted us,” Palkin explained to The Athletic. “If you talk about Chelsea, they called me at the end of December and asked if they can contact Mudryk because they are interested in him and want to talk with him. I said, ‘No problem, you can contact him’.
“The first time they contacted him was around the end of December or the start of January. They contacted the player and the agent of the player and they met the financial conditions. Therefore, why did many people around it have the impression that Mudryk was going to Arsenal? It is because Arsenal contacted him and then Mudryk started to watch some games of Arsenal.
“But negotiations are negotiations. When you didn’t close everything, when you did not (close) the last dot, then you cannot finish the deal. Therefore it was just an outside visual impression that Mudryk is close to Arsenal.”