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Arsenal may well be breathing a sigh of relief over their failure to sign Mykhailo Mudryk. Once one of football’s hottest properties, the Gunners were pipped to the Ukrainian’s signature by Chelsea in January 2023, but his career has now hit a new low after testing positive for a banned substance. Having been provisionally suspended by the FA and facing a ban of up to four years from football, Mudryk’s future currently hangs in the balance. This is a huge blow for both the 23-year-old and his employers, whose time with the Blues has proved a disappointment since joining on an eight-and-a-half year deal worth £88million. He has failed to justify his hefty price tag so far, managing just five league goals in 53 matches. And recent events will no doubt leave some parties pondering what might have been, with Mudryk's career at one point appearing headed in a very different direction. Before Chelsea emptied their pockets for him, the promising forward had seemed set to join rivals Arsenal from Shakhtar Donetsk. In a long-running transfer saga, the Gunners saw three separate bids rejected by Shakhtar, with manager Mikel Arteta and former technical director Edu reportedly convinced of Mudryk's talent. So much so in fact, that they were prepared to smash their then club record transfer fee by matching Chelsea's eye-watering final offer. Throughout this, Mudryk made no secret that north London was his preferred destination. The starlet frequently expressed his admiration of Arsenal and Arteta on social media during their pursuit of him, which began after he impressed for Ukraine on his senior debut against Scotland in June 2022. On one occasion, following the Gunners' 3-1 Boxing Day victory over West Ham in 2022, Mudryk uploaded footage of their third goal to his Instagram story, accompanied by several fire emojis. Then in January 2023, with the Gunners and Shakhtar locked in negotiations, Mudryk appeared to like an Instagram post from an Arsenal fan account which showed him behind bars. In the background was the Shakhtar club badge alongside the caption: "#Free Mudryk". And it wasn't just online where Mudryk heavily hinted at his desire to join the Emirates Stadium outfit. Speaking to CBS Sports in August 2022, he said of a potential move: "I think every guy dreams about the Premier League. It's hard to say but Arsenal is a very good team, very good coach. I like the way they play. " "From my side I can’t say no [to Arsenal] but a transfer is not only my decision. ” Mudryk also admitted to watching the Gunners closely in a separate interview with Arsenal full-back and Ukraine teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko's wife, Vlada, who is a football journalist. On the Gunners, he said: “Yeah. I check on them in ‘myscore’ and know when they’re playing I can check on them, ” “I also watch them too. [Arsenal are] a very dynamic side, in general not just in controlling possession but also in scoring goals. ” Despite Mudryk's dream destination being clear for all to see, it was ultimately Chelsea who brought the long-running saga to an end, as they beat the Gunners to an agreement with Shakhtar. It was later claimed that the winger was so devastated at the turn of events that he phoned the Gunners in tears asking them to sign him as he was on the plane heading to west London. And while the Blues went on to parade their star signing around Stamford Bridge in their next home match against Crystal Palace, the transfer has certainly failed to deliver on its initial promise. With Mudryk's woes at Chelsea now extending beyond just his performances on the pitch, there is every chance that Arsenal will feel that they dodged a bullet here. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited

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