Via Sky Sports:
Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury has left Arsenal fans wondering whether the club will act to sign a striker in January but Mikel Arteta’s desire to strengthen his wide attacking options is a long-standing priority.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli have shone this season, scoring their fifth and sixth Premier League goals respectively in the 3-1 win over West Ham on Boxing Day, but there is a lack of depth beneath them, especially with Emile Smith Rowe currently unavailable.
Mudryk would offer direct competition for Martinelli on the left-hand side, where, like the Brazilian, he operates as an inverted winger. He can, however, also play on the opposite side.
“It’s more comfortable for me when I play on the line where I can show all my potential one against one,” he said when asked about his favoured position in an interview with The Times in September.
“I have more space to move to the front and I can create a lot more chances when I play on the line. There are more people in the middle. But, you know, the middle is also OK for me.
“My inspiration is Cristiano Ronaldo because of what you can do if you work hard and believe in yourself. I like the way Cristiano plays. I see myself like that – a winger.”
That is not to say he might not one day be comfortable playing centrally too – “I need more time to change my position from 11 or 7 to 9, but with time it is possible,” he added to The Times – but he is above all someone who would enhance Arsenal’s threat from the flanks.
He is not dissimilar to Martinelli and Saka in terms of his dribbling ability and directness, but his blistering acceleration from a standing position and the speed at which he transitions from defence to attack mean he would offer Arteta’s side something different.
It remains to be seen what happens next but it looks increasingly likely that Mudryk, although a little-known figure outside of Ukraine only a year ago, has a tantalisingly bright future ahead of him.
