Arsenal remain in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over the signing of forward Mykhailo Mudryk.
A gap in valuation for the player exists as well the payment structure of the deal - with reports suggesting Shakhtar have rejected Arsenal's opening bid of around £55m including add-ons.
One source has told Sky Sports News there is cautious optimism a deal can get done with Arsenal thought to be encouraged by the player's desire to join.
Mudryk was watching Arsenal's game against West Ham on Boxing Day on TV and posted a picture on Instagram.
Arsenal wanted to strengthen forward line in the summer and went in for former Leeds winger Raphinha, who ended up joining Barcelona in a £55m deal.
The potential signing of Mudryk is seen as an ideal purchase for Arsenal - the Ukraine international is someone the Gunners have scouted for a while.
Mudryk is not, however, seen as a direct replacement for Gabriel Jesus, who is expected back before the end of the season.
The 21-year-old has scored 10 goals this season for Shakhtar - including three in the Champions League group stages.
Mudryk a special talent to push competition
Sky Sports' Ben Grounds:
"Mudryk is a special talent. Anyone who has seen him play will realise the type of player he is. Direct and menacing with the ball at his feet, Shakhtar's courageous attempt at navigating their way through the Champions League group stages ultimately fell short but their standout performer was Mudryk.
"He has played predominantly on the left-hand side for Shakhtar so it will be interesting to see if Mikel Arteta deploys him in the same position or as a No 10.
"Gabriel Martinelli has been performing so well on the left while Eddie Nketiah is proving a capable understudy to Gabriel Jesus through the middle.
"As with Liverpool's pursuit of Cody Gakpo, this transfer provides Arsenal with variety to their attack. Their opportunity to be this close to a first league title since 2004 may not come around for another four or five years.
"Both Martinelli and Nketiah will be pushed by Mudryk's imminent arrival.
"Arsenal wouldn't have moved for Mudryk without having done their due diligence on the player and how he fits into the style Arteta wants to play, but with Arsenal in such a strong position in the Premier League, it would not be a surprise if this was the end of their January transfer business.
"The Arsenal board are reacting to the team's strong position and the early move for Mudryk shows they mean business."
micdenru
1
aaah Edu please help us to close the deal for Mudryk
samwelalex
1
Mudyrk is a good player,according to statistical for him,so arsenal should make sure the quick signing to strength the squad before this window closed.
Yizabimpr
0
I think Arsenal should negotiate first and don't jump to pay shaktar any bug money
Yizabimpr
0
The thing about Mudryk is that we’ve known for some time what Shakhtar’s public price is, but obviously feel there’s room for negotiation. As much as I’d like the player, I don’t think we should pay anything like what they want. It’s far too expensive, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. Will they be persuaded to accept less? It’s not as if there’s a bidding war (yet), and from everything we can see, the player himself is extremely keen to join and let the world know he’s interested in moving to North London. So far, he has done an interview with Oleksandr Zinchenko’s wife (who is a TV presenter, it’s not just a random thing), and the other night he posted a picture on social media which showed he was watching our win over West Ham. Asked about it afterwards, Mikel Arteta was typically casual, saying: It’s a good thing for England that you don’t have many other matches in other countries. We are the only ones playing through Christmas so hopefully, a lot of people watched our game and we gave them a good show. I suspect that part of our strategy will be Mudryk’s desire to join, which couldn’t be more obvious. So much so that I expect further shows of his intentions over the coming days. The possibilities are endless. Whether that will have any impact at all on the Shakhtar’s stance we’ll have to wait and see. In seriousness though, there must be some confidence on Arsenal’s part that a deal can be done, but it does look as if this could go on a while. Which adds another layer to things because we know the manager wants reinforcement as early as possible, and there are some difficult games coming up in January. Staying serious, the arrival of Mudryk addresses another key issue: depth. I’m not as worried about Eddie Nketiah’s ability to score goals as some, but where I do worry is that he is the only centre-forward we’ve got. Signing a winger doesn’t directly solve that problem, but having someone else to play on the left would allow us to use Gabriel Martinelli at centre-forward if that was required. In reality, he’s about the only internal solution we have available to us right now, but a knock or a suspension for Eddie and we’re stretched on the left too, especially with Emile Smith Rowe yet to return to action. Let’s see how quickly we can find some agreement with Shakhtar.
I think Arsenal should negotiate first
sumbmprtu
0
We’ve already offered them good money. He doesn’t even play in one of the top 5 leagues. Let’s just let that offer marinate a little and allow him to force things on his end too. This is basically an uncontested singing, no bidding war whatsoever
There’s a good chance that such an offer can get us milinkovic savic
Yizabimpr
0
We’ve already offered them good money. He doesn’t even play in one of the top 5 leagues. Let’s just let that offer marinate a little and allow him to force things on his end too. This is basically an uncontested singing, no bidding war whatsoever
yeah I think so too
sumbmprtu
2
We’ve already offered them good money. He doesn’t even play in one of the top 5 leagues. Let’s just let that offer marinate a little and allow him to force things on his end too. This is basically an uncontested singing, no bidding war whatsoever
YakubuAutaSaad
5
The thing about Mudryk is that we’ve known for some time what Shakhtar’s public price is, but obviously feel there’s room for negotiation. As much as I’d like the player, I don’t think we should pay anything like what they want. It’s far too expensive, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. Will they be persuaded to accept less? It’s not as if there’s a bidding war (yet), and from everything we can see, the player himself is extremely keen to join and let the world know he’s interested in moving to North London. So far, he has done an interview with Oleksandr Zinchenko’s wife (who is a TV presenter, it’s not just a random thing), and the other night he posted a picture on social media which showed he was watching our win over West Ham. Asked about it afterwards, Mikel Arteta was typically casual, saying: It’s a good thing for England that you don’t have many other matches in other countries. We are the only ones playing through Christmas so hopefully, a lot of people watched our game and we gave them a good show. I suspect that part of our strategy will be Mudryk’s desire to join, which couldn’t be more obvious. So much so that I expect further shows of his intentions over the coming days. The possibilities are endless. Whether that will have any impact at all on the Shakhtar’s stance we’ll have to wait and see. In seriousness though, there must be some confidence on Arsenal’s part that a deal can be done, but it does look as if this could go on a while. Which adds another layer to things because we know the manager wants reinforcement as early as possible, and there are some difficult games coming up in January. Staying serious, the arrival of Mudryk addresses another key issue: depth. I’m not as worried about Eddie Nketiah’s ability to score goals as some, but where I do worry is that he is the only centre-forward we’ve got. Signing a winger doesn’t directly solve that problem, but having someone else to play on the left would allow us to use Gabriel Martinelli at centre-forward if that was required. In reality, he’s about the only internal solution we have available to us right now, but a knock or a suspension for Eddie and we’re stretched on the left too, especially with Emile Smith Rowe yet to return to action. Let’s see how quickly we can find some agreement with Shakhtar.
Sihaimnp
0
Arsenal Why not sign Leroy Sane over this guy😒
Leroy sane hate gunners that why and you can't afford him
pidbekrsz
1
lucanot
1
he's gonna be ours soon
9ineball
3
Arteta’s been with us for 3 years and y’all still surprised at how he does his transfers and the kind of players he gets I’ve seen some people saying why not Sane...yes Sane is a great acquisition but the fee Bayern would ask for someone of that calibre would be high like Murdyk’s too maybe even higher and we all know Arteta won’t buy a player to give Saka a scare for his place, also his wages are there too and honestly with ESR not fully fit we need a sub for Martinelli, I mean Vieira or Marquinhos could sub on for Saka late on Even Murdyk has said himself he could play as a 9 so it’s all good but yeah the fee is high
9ineball
1
Leroy Sane is a very good and technical player but at times he might be big headed that's why arsenal doesn't want to go for him...remember arteta worked with him at city
I don’t think you know how much his wages would be and how much Bayern would want since he’s a key player to them
9ineball
0
After all the scouting and hype the critical has come and we are getting stuck, bids being rejected and could end up signing Mykhylo Modryk at an exhobitant or even get signed by another club via a hijack,,,,,💂
Did that happen to Jesus?? Y’all should calm down really Transfers don’t happen in 2 hours lol
jihacertuz
1
After all the scouting and hype the critical has come and we are getting stuck, bids being rejected and could end up signing Mykhylo Modryk at an exhobitant or even get signed by another club via a hijack,,,,,💂
MncesisiNcube
2
Arsenal need to act fast with their signings, we ended up failing to sign a midfielder in August because they acted late to try to sign Douglas Luiz
Hicekmptu
1
this news is fake 😲
Doyalmns
3
Leroy Sane is a very good and technical player but at times he might be big headed that's why arsenal doesn't want to go for him...remember arteta worked with him at city
EritreanKing
1
don't pay too much and pressurise the kid
Sunusigoma
0
good morning
ropbceiops
1
pls if thy dnt wnt to sale him look another player thy are many
Dcashy
4
Arsenal Why not sign Leroy Sane over this guy😒