Mykhailo Mudryk Shakhtar Donetsk 2022-23

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Arteta responds to Arsenal's £55m Mudryk transfer bid

Mikel Arteta refused to comment on Arsenal’s bid for Mykhailo Mudryk - but admitted Arsenal were in the process of trying to strengthen their squad.

Mudryk is Arsenal's priority January target
Winger showed on social media he was watching Arsenal beat West Ham
Arsenal want a deal done early in January

WHAT HAPPENED? The Gunners made their first move for the Shakhtar Donetsk winger on Monday, tabling a bid of around £55 million including add-ons. Shakhtar are expected to reject the opening offer, but the Gunners are keen to wrap up a deal for the 21-year-old early in the January transfer window.

WHAT THEY SAID: Asked about the bid following the Gunners’ 3-1 win against West Ham on Boxing Day, Arteta said: “You know that I never speak about players who are not with us, but I understand that you have to ask me the question. We said that we will try and find ways to strengthen the team [if] we find the right players and that’s what I can say.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Mudryk posted a video on his social media channels showing that he was watching Arsenal’s win against the Hammers.

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When asked if he was happy that the winger was taking an interest in the game, Arteta said: “The good thing with England is that you don’t have many other matches in other countries at Christmas so hopefully a lot of people watched our game and we gave them a good show.”

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