Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko has revealed that he has told Mykhailo Mudryk to move on after his failed January transfer move this winter.
What's the latest on Mykhailo Mudryk, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Arsenal?
In the past transfer window, 22-year-old winger Mudryk seemed set to move to north London and join the Gunners, even making multiple social posts to outline how keen he was on a move.
However, at the last moment, Todd Boehly and Chelsea came in with an offer and blew Arsenal out of the water to sign him from Shakhtar Donetsk for £88.5m.
It remains unclear if the attacker had much of a say in the transfer and whether he really preferred to join the Blues ahead of Mikel Arteta's men. Either way, that's what happened and he must now prove himself with a Premier League rival.
That certainly seems to be the message from his Ukrainian international teammate. Indeed, when speaking to the Daily Mail, Zinchenko outlined his advice to Mudryk.
He said: "I told him: 'It's gone already, it doesn't matter what you wanted, what the other guys wanted.'
"Now you're a Chelsea player, you signed a long-term contract and you have only one option, only one way: direct and forward."
He added: "Unfortunately he didn't become an Arsenal player – as I wanted personally! – but it's life."
Is Leandro Trossard a better signing than Mudryk?
It's certainly no secret that Zinchenko wanted Mudryk at Arsenal. After all, his wife even did an interview with the winger in November where they talked about him joining the club.
In the end, though, the 22-year-old joined Chelsea on a contract that could extend to 2031 which is worth £97,000 per week, and so the Gunners opted to bring in Leandro Trossard instead.
Since then, the former Brighton man has netted one goal and provided six assists for Arsenal in 10 Premier League outings, while Mudryk has just one assist in his first six league games.
Evidently, it's safe to say Trossard has made the brighter start to life at his new club, and perhaps the Ukrainian has found it harder to settle as he spent so long expecting that he would be playing for Arteta as opposed to Graham Potter, while he has had to get used to entirely new surroundings.
Either way, it's probably best he follows Zinchenko's advice, gets on with his career, and tries to impress in the remainder of the season.
