Journalist Art de Roche has now made the bold claim that one Arsenal target Mikel Arteta missed out on could have shone in North London.
Leandro Trossard has been sensational for Arsenal this season.
The Gunners paid £27 million to prise the Belgian attacker away from Brighton and Hove Albion in January 2023.
The 29-year-old has since made an impressive impact at the Emirates Stadium. Leandro Trossard has scored 15 goals for the Gunners this season in 42 appearances, across all competitions. He got Mikel Arteta’s side up and running on their way to a 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea last time out.
Mykhailo Mudryk was in the starting XI for the Blues on Tuesday evening, but he failed to pose much of a threat at the Emirates Stadium. In truth, the Ukrainian winger has struggled to shine since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
Did Arsenal dodge a bullet by signing Leandro Trossard instead of Mykhailo Mudryk?
The West London outfit signed Mudryk for £89 million, beating Arsenal to his signature in the 2023 winter transfer window. Arteta had been desperate to sign the 23-year-old, and only pivoted to signing Trossard after Chelsea won the race for the attacker’s services.
Of course, in hindsight, it has to be said that Arsenal got the better deal. Trossard has been hailed as the best finisher in the Arsenal squad, and has made some major contributions in his time on the books at the Emirates Stadium so far.
However, Art de Roche does not believe that the scenario is as simple as Trossard simply being a far better player than Mudryk.
Would Mykhailo Mudryk have thrived at Arsenal?
Speaking on the Handbrake Off podcast, the reporter said “I think he [Arteta] would’ve really wanted Mudryk, but also, you can’t really predict what would’ve happened if Mudryk came to Arsenal. He could have been just as good as Trossard, if not better. It’s just because he’s gone to such a dysfunctional environment, I think we are seeing, not just him but a lot of players, lost.”
Mudryk undeniably has talent. The 18-cap Ukraine international has electric pace and has shown flashes of real quality in the Premier League. However, he has also looked woefully short on confidence all too often when turning out for Chelsea.
The general chaos that has consumed the Blues in recent seasons, with huge amounts of player churn and off-the-pitch drama, must surely have made it harder for him to settle.
Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is convinced that Mudryk has what it takes to reach the very top. Perhaps, as de Roche suggests, had he joined Arsenal rather than Chelsea in the first place he would now be much closer to realising his potential under the guidance of Arteta.
