Arsenal eye Ukraine winger better than Mudryk: Arteta 'in love' with €30m star

Tom Weber

• Updated: 4 Jun 2024 17:17 BST
• 7 min read

Arsenal are interested in signing Girona winger Viktor Tsygankov, according to Spanish media.

The Ukrainian is coming off an impressive LaLiga campaign with the Catalan outfit. Though he was mostly overshadowed by his left-sided counterpart Savio, Tsygankov nevertheless enjoyed a very good season, notching a respectable eight goals and seven assists in 30 league outings.

A left-footed right-winger, Tsygankov only set Girona back €5 million and this was seen by those familiar with his game at Dynamo Kyiv as a major coup by the Spanish minnows, who will play Champions League football next season.

READ MORE: Chelsea 'make contact' to hijack Man Utd transfer for top target

Looking back, it really was a shrewd piece of business, as was signing compatriot Artem Dovbyk, who is now on the radar of Chelsea, as FootballTransfers has exclusively revealed.

Tsygankov, meanwhile, is being courted by Arsenal, according to AS, and a move to the Emirates could be on the cards this summer.

Compared

Viktor Tsygankov

AM (CR), M (R)

Girona

Viktor Tsygankov

AM (CR), M (R)

Girona

VS

Mykhaylo Mudryk

AM (CL), M (L)

Chelsea

Mykhaylo Mudryk

AM (CL), M (L)

Chelsea

2023/2024

Season Statistics

2023/2024

34	Appearances	41
8	Goals	7
7	Assists	2

Tsygankov better than Mudryk

In January 2023, Arsenal were famously engaged in a transfer struggle with Chelsea over Mykhailo Mudryk. The Blues ultimately won the battle, signing the 23-year-old for a whopping €70m - with the deal potentially rising to €100m - but Arsenal won the war.

The Gunners instead snapped up Leandro Trossard from Brighton and the Belgian has been much more successful at Arsenal than Mudryk at Chelsea. However, the Gunners could now sign a Ukrainian winger after all.

READ MORE: Ruthless Arteta sells star who saved him his job

The above-mentioned outlet reports that Mikel Arteta is 'in love' with Tsygankov. Girona naturally want to keep hold of him ahead of their maiden Champions League campaign, but the 26-year-old has a €30m release clause and this is dangerous for the LaLiga side, with AC Milan also keen.

Tsygankov would arrive at the Emirates as much-needed cover for Arsenal iron man Bukayo Saka. He would certainly be a more-than-adequate option for Arteta, with data analytics firm SciSports rating Tsygankov higher than Mudryk. In fact, even the Chelsea star's potential is thought to be below Tsygankov's current ability level.