Arsenal legend 'happy' that Mudryk signed for Chelsea

Karan Tejwani

• 27 Jan 2023 09:30 CST
• 2 min read

Arsenal legend David Seaman has spoken about the club missing out on Ukrainian talent Mykhaylo Mudryk as he went to Chelsea instead.

The Gunners were in pole position to sign the winger from Shakhtar Donetsk until a swoop from Chelsea saw him move to the Blues instead earlier in January.

The move ended up being one for around €100 million – the biggest transfer of the January window – and some Arsenal figures are happy he didn’t end up at the Emirates Stadium.

READ: Mudryk compared to club legend Hazard after exciting Chelsea debut

Seaman suggested he’s happy the transfer didn’t happen as he believed it would upset the squad harmony at a crucial point of the season.

Seaman happy to see Mudryk go to Chelsea

“When he came on he looked really good I was really impressed with a lot of his control, the way he was going past defenders, the little passes that he saw,” Seaman said on the Seaman Says podcast.

"I was thinking he looked special and I thought I would've liked him at Arsenal if I'm honest. He's gone for the money! You would think that [Gabriel] Martinelli would be the one because when he came on against Liverpool he was on the left so would it be for Martinelli or as another striker.

READ: Electric Mudryk debut proves why Chelsea signed Madueke

"I'm quite happy he didn't he would've upset the squad, I'm sure it would. We can't compare with people like Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool and even Man United on the financial side of deals. If we do something really special this year that puts us back up there."

His claims were backed up by Ian Wright, who was talking on the Arsecast podcast: "With Mudryk, I was very excited about that. With the money it started to get into the realm where it could knock us off our axis in terms of what we're trying to do.”

"He looks like the kind of guy that would fit into our group. I was a bit disappointed but not disappointed that Arsenal went 'that's fine."

Mudryk will be hoping to make his first start for Chelsea next weekend when they take on Fulham at Stamford Bridge, having played against Liverpool as a substitute last week.