"In my opinion..." - Mudryk's former coach tells him he made a mistake joining Chelsea over Arsenal

A former coach of new Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk believes the Ukrainian would have been better suited to a move to Arsenal instead of joining the Blues in January.

Arsenal were linked with the Ukrainian throughout the recent transfer window, and had two bids rejected by Shakhtar Donetsk for his services.

Sport Arena claimed that the Gunners were 'close to agreeing' a deal with Shakhtar, with only the framework of bonuses left to be decided.

However, Chelsea decided to swoop in with a last-minute bid of their own. Blues directors travelled to Poland and agreed a deal of their own with Shakhtar, and Mudryk became a Chelsea player the following day.

The CEO of the Ukrainian giants, Serhii Palvin, told The Athletic that both clubs offered the same figure to sign Mudryk, with the differences being the structure of payments and types of bonuses. He also criticised Arsenal for their approach of the player.

Mudryk has since made his Chelsea debut, impressing during the 0-0 draw with Liverpool on January 21.

But a former coach of the 22-year-old believes he would have been better joining Arsenal, but did state that time will tell whether he made the right decision to join Chelsea instead.

Former Mudryk coach on Arsenal

Andreas Carrasco, who coached Mudryk in Shakhtar's U19 setup, gave his thoughts on the Ukrainian's big money move.

Speaking in a recent interview (quotes via Tribuna), he said: "[Chelsea] is a club that has been changing recently. But it is good for Mudryk to be in a club that always expects maximum results.

"Now, he needs to go through a period of adaptation. And only time will tell if it was the right decision for him or not.

"Today, Arsenal, with its style of play, could be more suitable for Mudryk, who successfully uses dribbling and plays one-on-one. It would be better for him, in my opinion."

After missing out on Mudryk, Arsenal successfully moved to complete the signing of Leandro Trossard from Brighton.

The Belgium international made his debut in the 3-2 win over Manchester United, coming off the bench and playing a role in the build-up to Eddie Nketiah's winning goal in stoppage time.