Arsenal were strongly linked with a move to sign Shakhtar defender Mykola Matviyenko in January, but who is he?
The strong defender joined his current club as a 12 year-old, and worked his way up the ranks into the senior side.
After two short spells in the Ukrainian top tier with Karpaty Lviv and Vorskla Poltava, he returned to make a stake for a claim for first-team football with Shakhtar, and is now a regular for his side.
The 23 year-old is equally adept at playing at left-back and centre-back, and is more than comfortable on the ball, and could well be the most likely rival to Pablo Mari on the left side of the defence.
Mikel Arteta is known to favour having left-footed options at centre-back, and being equally adept to playing at full-back could be perfect to allow Bukayo Saka return to his favoured winger role in the coming season.
We are believed to have failed in an attempt to sign him in January, but our manager may well favour Pablo Mari after his current loan spell albeit on limited appearances thus far.
Could Matviyenko be back on Arteta’s wishlist this summer? Would he displace Mari as the favoured left-sided centre-back? Could he and Saliba prove a formidable partnership for years to come?
Patrick
Very keen on Matvieyenko, he looks excellent and a great partner to Salilba
A very fine defender who ticks all the boxes apart from lacking the height needed in the EPL.