€100m Mudryk and €80m Vlahovic: Arsenal get lucky on struggling signings

Carlo Garganese

• 10 Mar 2023 06:24 CST
• 4 min read

Much has been said over the past couple of months about how Arsenal dodged a bullet in missing out on the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Mudryk had long been expected to join Arsenal in January, but were gazumped by a €100 million offer from Chelsea.

Mudryk signed an eight and a half year contract with Chelsea until the summer of 2031, with the Blues offering the player a much higher salary than Arsenal also.

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But the winger has endured a very tough start to his career at Chelsea, contributing no goals and just one assist in his first seven games.

What is more, he has performed very poorly during most of these matches with his passing, dribbling and his basic first touch not up to scratch.

This has led to Graham Potter not considering even as a first-team starter at this current time.

Dusan Vlahovic struggles at Juventus

But Mudryk is not the only big signing that Arsenal missed out on that has struggled somewhat at his new club.

Vlahovic completed an €80m transfer to Juventus from Fiorentina in the closing days of the January 2022 market, becoming the most expensive winter signing in Serie A history.

The 22-year-old rejected an offer from Arsenal, who had been trying to sign him in the months before - just like Mudryk.

At the time this was seen as a big blow for Arsenal and yet another example of an exciting talent rejecting them for another major club.

However, things have worked out for the best for Arsenal as they decided to sign Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City instead this past summer.

Jesus has been a revelation in north London, part of a collective that sees Arsenal top of the Premier League.

As for Vlahovic, his form and goalscoring numbers have dropped considerably at Juventus compared to at Fiorentina where he had scored more goals in a calendar year than anyone in Serie A for 60 years.

He has still managed 20 goals in 48 appearances, but he looks far from the player he was at Fiorentina.

Indeed not only has the 23-year-old stagnated so far at Juve, he has regressed. His first touch has been heavy, his movement static and his hold-up play not up to par.

Undoubtedly, much of the blame lays at the feet of much-maligned coach Max Allegri. The Italian’s ultra defensive style of play, which sees Vlahovic horribly isolated in a 3-5-1-1 formation, has not been conducive to developing Vlahovic’s game.

Vlahovic is in poor form, with only one goal in his last seven games, a penalty.

This has resulted in reports that Juventus may even consider selling Vlahovic this summer.

What is for certain is that until now, Vlahovic has not been the top-class striker they expected when they made him the most expensive January signing in Serie A history.

And Arsenal may have dodged two bullets; Vlahovic and Mudryk.