22 January 2023 , 08:13
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Rio Ferdinand has claimed Arsenal fans will be left gutted the Gunners failed to land the signature of Mykhaylo Mudryk after his promising Chelsea debut.
The Ukraine international was introduced off the bench for his Blues debut against Liverpool at Anfield and was handed around 40 minutes to strut his stuff, introducing himself to the travelling Chelsea faithful. And he didn't disappoint, with the winger certainly making an impression over the course of his second-half cameo appearance.
For the overwhelming majority of the winter window, Mudryk seemed destined to join Arsenal for a fee of around £80million but the Gunners pursuit of the 22-year-old was hijacked by their London rivals earlier this month.
Chelsea pipped the Gunners to the post and in turn forced Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to resort to his plan B signing in former Brighton star Leandro Trossard for the drastically cheaper price of £27m.
While the Belgian international could make his debut against Manchester United on Sunday, the Premier League got its first glimpse of Mudryk on Saturday afternoon.
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The 22-year-old showed lightening-quick speed as he gave both James Milner and Trent Alexander-Arnold plenty to think about in the Reds right back role.
Mykhaylo Mudryk enjoyed a bright start to his Chelsea careerHAVE YOUR SAY! Will Arsenal live to regret not signing Mudryk this month? Comment below
Milner actually picked up a yellow card for bringing Mudryk down, with the veteran star not interested in the idea of challenging Chelsea's new recruit to a foot race.
Manchester United legend Ferdinand discussed how Mudryk 'frightening proposition' for Premier League full-backs as he waxed lyrical over the former Arsenal target.
While covering the clash on BT Sport, the ex-England ace explained: "We’ve all seen the clips of him and that explosive pace. But what I liked about him today is we saw soft feet on him and a good weight of pass too.
"He was making good decisions in the final third and was showing calmness while running at speed. Those elements make him a frightening proposition for full-backs when he gets into full flow. This is only his first minutes in a month or so.
"Who knows what he’s going to be producing after this but it’s exciting for Chelsea fans. I’m sure there will be Arsenal fans sitting there going, 'oh my days, how did we let that one go?'"
Blues boss Graham Potter had positive things to say about his most expensive signing to date as he added: "He’s not played football for a while, he’s been on a mid-season break. We had to manage his minutes, but you can see his quality."
With Chelsea languishing in 10th, Mudryk is going to have to hit the ground running to help turn the tide on what has been a miserable Blues season so far.