Arsenal were able to afford the transfer of Declan Rice last summer because they missed out on the expensive Mykhailo Mudryk deal, as he ended up joining their rivals Chelsea instead, according to Simon Phillips via Substack.
It seems Rice was also on Chelsea’s radar prior to him joining the Gunners, but the fact that the Blues invested so much in Mudryk as their priority meant they were unable to compete for Rice a few months later.
Mudryk looked a hugely exciting talent at Shakhtar Donetsk and could surely have done a job for Arsenal, though it’s also fair to say he’s looked hugely disappointing in his time at Stamford Bridge so far.
The Ukraine international is still young enough that he might be able to turn his career around and fulfil his true potential, but at the moment there is absolutely no doubt that Rice looks by far the better signing.
Rice transfer has been a big hit for Arsenal
Arsenal fans must be relieved that they ended up being beaten to Mudryk, as getting Rice in has been a huge boost for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Even if Arteta might have done a better job with Mudryk than Chelsea’s managers have been able to, it would also likely have been a real blow if the world class Rice had ended up playing for the Blues.
The England international shone at West Ham and has taken his game to another level since moving to the Emirates Stadium, forming a key part of the team that pushed Manchester City all the way to the final day of the season in a close title race last term.
It’s funny to think what could have been if these deals had gone the other way, but for now it looks like Arsenal were smarter than Chelsea here, with the north Londoners clearly not quite convinced enough by Mudryk to pay as much as their rivals did.