Artem Dovbyk answers Edu's £42m Arsenal transfer question during Ukraine loss

Artem Dovbyk could not do much as his Ukraine side were well beaten by Romania on Monday afternoon.

The Girona striker, 26, started for his nation in Munich and played the full 90 minutes of the 3-0 defeat. Dovbyk was La Liga's top goalscorer this season with 24 goals and such form has seen him linked with a move to Arsenal.
Diari de Girona claim that Arsenal are among the European sides monitoring Dovbyk's situation, with the striker reportedly having a release clause in the region of €40million (£33million) to €50million (£42million). The Ukrainian is the latest striker to be linked with a move to north London, with Edu and Mikel Arteta keen to strengthen the Gunners forward line this summer.

Arsenal fans got a chance to see Dovbyk in action on Monday as Ukraine took on Romania at Euro 2024. football.london kept an eye on his movements...

0-15 minutes
It was a bright start to the game by Ukraine, with Serhiy Rebrov's side having plenty of the ball. Dovbyk was a real handful and often looked to spin in behind the Romania defence. He nearly found himself one on one with Florin Nița but failed to control a pinpoint Oleksandr Zinchenko long ball.

Five minutes later the striker was involved again, this time using his body well to shield the ball on the edge of the area with his back to goal. His lay off to a teammate was simple but effective although the resulting shot was blocked.

Dovbyk again demonstrated his strength when using his body well to turn just outside the Romania box. He should have really hit it first time with his right foot but decided to take an extra touch to get the ball onto his stronger left foot, allowing Andrei Burca to get back just in time to make a last ditch tackle.

16-45 minutes
Dovbyk had his first shot on goal with 21 minutes played. Finding himself in a bit of space 20 yards out from goal, the 26-year-old shifted the ball onto his left foot but blazed it well over the bar. A poor effort in truth but a striker not afraid to shoot is a good sign.

Ukraine found themselves behind on the half hour mark and Dovbyk could only watch on. Nicolae Stanciu capitalised on a bad pass from Andriy Lunin, finding the top corner with a sensational strike, sending Romania fans into raptures. Minutes later Dovbyk was involved once more but this time near his own goal, with the Girona man showing his defensive capabilities as he headed away a dangerous free kick.

Dovbyk saw very little of the ball for the rest of the first half. He did find himself again in a battle with Burca, which the Romanian defender won. Interestingly, Tottenham's Radu Dragusin was quick to congratulate his centre-back partner with a chest pump, barging past Dovbyk in the process.

46-60 minutes
It was a quiet start to the second half for Dovbyk as Ukraine offered very little going forward. Things soon got worse for Rebrov's side as Romania fans were cheering a second goal eight minutes into the half when Razvan Marin doubled their lead. It was 3-0 to Romania soon after as Denis Dragus made no mistake from close range, tapping in a Dennis Man cross-shot.

61-90 minutes
With Ukraine needing to get back into the game, Rebrov made three changes on the hour mark with Andriy Yarmolenko, Roman Yaremchuk and Volodymyr Brazhko coming on. Dovbyk was not one of the three who was taken off and found himself playing alongside Yaremchuk for the remainder of the match.

His instructions were clear: keep high, central and try to stay between the goal posts. The striker was starved of service, however, and actually got in the way of a Yaremchuk shot with 76 minutes on the clock.

With seven minutes to play Dovbyk found himself in the thick of the action and should of probably had an assist. Ukraine's No.11 played a well-weighted pass into the path of Mykhailo Mudryk, but the Chelsea's man's first time shot was blazed over. Good play by Dovbyk who showed his eye for a pass.

Conclusion
Dovbyk couldn't really get into the game as Ukraine were well beaten 3-0 by Romania. The Girona man saw very little of the ball but was a physical presence up front. His one shot went well over and he didn't really have many other opportunities.

He made a few decent runs in behind the Romania defence but was either ignored or not seen by his teammates. In truth it's very hard to judge the striker based on this one 90-minute performance. It will be interesting to see how Dovbyk performs against Slovakia and Belgium in the remaining group games but based on this one showing Arsenal's money is better off being spent elsewhere.

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