Arsenal forced to pay over the odds for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhailo Mudryk
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Mudryk informed CBS reporter Ben Jacobs that he ‘can’t say no’ to Arsenal.

Journalist Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport, Arsenal are being forced to pay over the odds for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhailo Mudryk.

The 22-year-old attacker has been the primary target for the North London club. He has been one of the most talked about transfer sagas in recent months and it could drag on for some time yet.

A recent report from the Daily Mail added that the Ukraine outfit is set to reject a second offer from Arsenal for Mudryk totaling around £62 million.

Shakhtar Donetsk turned down the capital club’s opening bid of just £52 million despite their director of football Darijo Srna publicly pricing Mudryk at €100 million.

Evening Standard has since claimed that the club is set to hold out for around £85 million after Chelsea also declared their interest in the 22-year-old attacker.

Mudryk informed CBS reporter Ben Jacobs that he ‘can’t say no’ to Arsenal, though, indicating that the Emirates Stadium would be his destination of choice.

In an interview with GMS, the journalist Dean Jones said: “They’re in a situation where they’re being forced to pay over the odds for a player, and they’ve got to be very, very careful here.

“I think for a long time, £65 million has generally been the figure I’ve been hearing that Arsenal wouldn’t want to be going over for this player. And I think we have to make comparisons to when they bought Nicolas Pepe, and they overpaid for him, and it didn’t work out.

“Now, I’m not saying that Mudryk would end up being a flop at Arsenal, but they have to be careful that they don’t overpay by a big amount for anyone at the moment.”

Arsenal bolstered their attacking options by bringing in Gabriel Jesus over the summer window, but the departures of Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette has left them short on strength in depth.

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