Edu proven right on unpopular £88m transfer decision as Arsenal policy works yet again

It had seemed as though it was a matter of time before Mykhailo Mudryk would become an Arsenal player. For one thing the player's social media activity had indicated that he was clearly in favour of a switch to North London. There were few concerns over personal terms.

The stumbling block instead came from dealings with Shakhtar Donetsk. The Ukrainian side are notoriously tough negotiators, and made it clear from the outset that they wanted a fee of around £88million for the 22-year-old.

Despite that though, talks were thought to be progressing well. Arsenal went in with an original bid that was around £55million in late December, but this was thought to be just in order to kick negotiations off. Talks then continued between the Gunners and Shakhtar and there was confidence that they were getting close to a deal.

Then at last moment came the late bid from Chelsea. It is thought that this was in the region of the original £88million Shakhtar were asking for, including possible add-ons… Arsenal had consistently stated that they would not be dragged into a bidding war and refused to go that high.

At the time the decision prompted a deluge of criticism for sporting director Edu Gaspar. The Brazilian had helped deliver Mikel Arteta a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League title, but many thought Mudryk could be the man to push them over the line.

Clearly there were voices inside Arsenal who agreed. It is understood that Stan and Josh Kroenke had indicated a willingness to provide Edu and Arteta with the funds to match Chelsea's bid, but the decision was taken to walk away from negotiations. Arsenal have made some pretty smart decisions in the transfer market over the past few years, but that may just have been the