After Mykhaylo Mudryk's transfer to London rivals Chelsea was made official in January, the Arsenal star revealed that he sent a message to his countryman.
Mikel Arteta's team made no secret of their desire to sign Mudryk during the January transfer, and it was clear that they both shared this admiration.
On social media, the former Shakhtar Donetsk star gave both Arsenal and Arteta himself public plaudits, but his final move to Chelsea Bridge came as quite a shock.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has said that he has no ill feelings towards Mykhaylo Mudryk after the young winger snubbed the Gunners for London rivals Chelsea.
Zinchenko advices Mudryk
In an exclusive interview with Zinchenko's wife, journalist Vlada Sedan, Mudryk revealed that he had fantasized about wearing the Gunners jersey in the past. He and Zinchenko had previously represented Ukraine together on international duty.
However, despite months of negotiations, Arsenal and Shakhtar were unable to come to an agreement on a price, and Chelsea pounced to beat their rivals to his signature. The Blues' late hijack attempt was approved by Todd Boehly, and it went according to plan.
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Mudryk had no choice but to sign for the Blues because Chelsea and Shakhtar had easily come to an arrangement and his actual destination wasn't that important.
Zinchenko has acknowledged his dissatisfaction with how the transfer drama played out, but the 26-year-old has also talked about how he gave Mudryk some advice following the transfer.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Mail, he said “I said to him: 'It’s gone already, it doesn’t matter what you wanted, what the other guys wanted.
"Now you’re a Chelsea player, you signed a long-term contract and you have only one option, only one way: direct and forward. Unfortunately, he didn’t become an Arsenal player as I wanted personally, but that's life."
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The Ukrainian have come under pressure since his move to Chelsea and have not performed as expected. Since his Premier League debut against Liverpool where he was impressive, his performances have stalled since then.
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