Arsenal Transfer News Roundup: Gunners remain in Mykhaylo Mudryk hunt; Granit Xhaka happy at Emirates, and more

Arsenal will travel to the Amex on Saturday (December 31) to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta’s wards remain atop the league after 15 games.

Meanwhile, acclaimed transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has said that the Gunners are still in the race to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk. Elsewhere, Granit Xhaka is happy at the Emirates.

On that note, here’s a look at the key Arsenal transfer stories as on December 30, 2022:

Arsenal remain in Mykhaylo Mudryk hunt

Fabrizio Romano has said that Arsenal are still in the hunt to secure Mykhaylo Mudryk’s signature.

The Gunners’ prolonged quest to sign the Ukrainian winger is yet to reach a fruitful conclusion. Arteta remains on the hunt for a new winger and has set his sights on the 21-year-old.

In his column for Caught Offside, Romano said that there’re no new developments in the saga.

“The Mykhaylo Mudryk story keeps on making headlines, and I’ve had a lot of Arsenal fans asking me for updates. I’m afraid I don’t know exactly when there will be new developments, this depends on the clubs; we will update when they will return with a new bid,” said Romano.

Mykhailo Mudryk has been directly involved in a goal once every 75.3 minutes in the league and Champions League in 2022/23:

◎ 1431 minutes
◉ 10 goals
◉ 9 assists

And no player has recorded a higher top speed (36.6 km/h) in the #UCL this season.

Mykhailo Mudryk has been directly involved in a goal once every 75.3 minutes in the league and Champions League in 2022/23:◎ 1431 minutes◉ 10 goals◉ 9 assistsAnd no player has recorded a higher top speed (36.6 km/h) in the #UCL this season. ⚡️ https://t.co/rjlPszIEmg

Romano added that Shakhtar Donetsk greatly value Mudryk, which is why they’re demanding an exorbitant fee for his signature.

“For sure, Arsenal remain in contact with Shakhtar, and they want to insist; Mudryk dreams of Premier League football, and he’s waiting to see what happens. I think he’s a fantastic talent with big potential, so this is why Shakhtar ask for big fee in the region of Antony and Jack Grealish,” said Romano.

The 21-year-old has appeared 18 times for the Ukrainian giants this season across competitions, registering ten goals and eight assists.

Granit Xhaka happy at Emirates

Granit Xhaka reckons Arsenal are on the right path at the moment. The Gunners have enjoyed a resurgent run under Arteta this season and are the favourites to win the Premier League. The Swiss international has played a pivotal role in the club’s steady rise under Arteta.

Speaking recently, Xhaka said that he has enjoyed a great relationship with the Spanish manager.

“Of course, I’m happy that we’re on a very good path at Arsenal. I feel completely at ease and enjoy an enormous amount of confidence there. We have something special planned in London,” said Xhaka.

He added:

“We discussed everything (with Arteta about the World Cup), yes. He can read me like nobody else. Mikel knows what it’s like to be down. He felt how hurt I was by the way I was eliminated (in Qatar). But there are so many other challenges and tournaments. I will take those on.”

Xhaka has amassed four goals and four assists from 21 games across competitions this season for the north London side.

Thierry Henry outlines Gabriel Jesus importance for Gunners

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry believes the Gunners will miss Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian is set to spend a lengthy spell on the sidelines after injuring his knee at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The 25-year-old has been a key figure at the Emirates since arriving at the club from Manchester City this summer.

Speaking recently, Henry said that Jesus’ experience of winning the Premier League makes him indispensable to the Gunners.

“What I like again about what you are going to miss with Jesus is that he has won it. I arrived at this football club with a lot of people that had won it. You don’t have a lot of people that have won the league here. Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko did it,” said Henry.

He added:

“You can see that they are transmitting that to the younger lads in the team, and that’s what I love about Gabriel Jesus. When you hear him talking, he always says, ‘I believe we can win the league’, and that’s contagious.”

Jesus has appeared 20 times across competitions for the London giants this season, scoring five goals and setting up seven more.