Arsenal Ditch Pablo Mari And Agree Transfer Fee For Mykola Matviyenko

News from Ukraine claim that Arsenal have made an u-turn on Pablo Mari and agreed a deal for Mykola Matviyenko instead.

The Shakhtar Donetsk star was heavily linked to Arsenal along with Mari but was not the one noticed taking his medical in North London.

Fans waited the entire weekend in anticipation of Mari being announced as an Arsenal player but the news never came. Reports are now emerging that a deal with the Flamengo defender is near collapse over disagreement of transfer fee. This has made Mikel Arteta lunge in for his other target, Matvyienko.

Of course, the 23-year-old’s name was quickly erased off by not just fans but reputable journalist, David Ornstein as well. He suggested, “They (Arsenal) had also been linked with Mykola Matviyenko, the Shakhtar Donetsk centre-half…who we talked about being on Manchester City’s list. Perhaps that was one Mikel Arteta brought with him to the Emirates.

“But, I don’t think that one’s going to happen in January because I don’t think they (Shakhtar Donetsk) want to loan him out and he’s not available for a low fee.”

Ornstein’s comments came prior to the Ukraine news outlet’s report. Maybe there has been some recent activity and we will have to wait out the remainder of the January transfer window to find out. Overall, Arsenal fans can expect at least one signing heading their way this month.