How Chelsea staff used Martinelli to scupper Arsenal's bid to sign Mudryk

Chelsea used Gabriel Martinelli to scupper Arsenal’s chances of signing Mykhailo Murdyk, according to a report.

Arsenal had identified Mudryk as their no.1 transfer target going into the winter window, having reportedly pursued the Ukrainian for months.

However, though the Gunners place three bids on the 22-year-old, the deal was ultimately hijacked by Chelsea.

The Blues blew Arsenal’s bids out of the water, ultimately signing Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday in a deal worth up to £89million.

Mudryk had publicly hinted for months that he had wanted to join Arsenal, praising the north London team and its manager Mikel Arteta in social media posts and interviews.

However, Chelsea convinced the player to join them at the last, allegedly by claiming the Ukraine international would struggle to play ahead of Martinelli at Arsenal.

Chelsea use Martinelli to prise away Murdyk

According to the Athletic, Mudryk has initially decided he would prefer a move to Arsenal over Chelsea, after speaking with both Arteta and Blues boss Graham Potter.

However, Chelsea’s co-owner, Behdad Eghbali, and director of global football talent, Paul Winstanley, subsequently stepped up.

The publication claims the pair spent 10 hours pitching Mudryk the merits of a move to Stamford Bridge.

During the conversation, it was stressed that Chelsea would provide him with more of a platform to excel than the Gunners.

Despite the Chelsea squad having several players able to operate from the left, Mudryk’s favoured position, Eghbali and Winstanley argued that he would face stiffer competition at Arsenal.

They allegedly claimed 21-year-old Brazil international Martinelli would be more difficult to displace than any of the Chelsea contingent, including Raheem Sterling.

Of course, the move also came down to Chelsea offering more acceptable terms to Shakhtar than Arsenal, who were unwilling to meet their demands.

Chelsea’s offer reportedly had more achievable add-on fees, though both bids were worth the same overall fee.