Jordan Pickford was not the only Everton player who saved his best performance of the Premier League campaign for Saturday’s trip to Mikel Arteta’s title-chasing Arsenal. Pickford left Kai Havertz and co frustrated during a stunning 90 minute display....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE➤
Frustrating The Gunners’ misfiring forwards with a series of sensational stops – the England number one the biggest reason why Everton came away from the Emirates with a point and a clean sheet for good measure – James Tarkowski cleared everything in sight, Ashley Young silenced a man 16 years his junior in Gabriel Martinelli, and Orel Mangala barely put a foot wrong in midfield.
The prospect of Vitality Mykolenko going head to head with Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, may have had Everton supporters heading to North London fearing the worst.
The Ukraine international had been given the runaround by Amad Diallo in a 4-0 thumping at Manchester United only a few weeks earlier, after all.
But Mykolenko has often saved his most impressive displays for the very best opposition since arriving at Goodison Park to the tune of £17 million three years ago.
And, as Saka became the latest prisoner in the Mykolenko penitentiary during a performance Toffees boss, Sean Dyche was left raving about a peformance he felt was nothing short of ‘outstanding’.
Yet, as far as former Ukraine forward Viktor Leonenko is concerned, it is frustrating to see one of the nation’s biggest-ever exports embroiled in yet another Premier League relegation battle.
Everton finished 16th, 17th and 15th in Mykolenko’s first two-and-a-half years on Merseyside. And, despite that Arsenal stalemate, Dyche’s team sit 16th currently, only two places above the drop zone.
“I absolutely do not understand Mykolenko, who moved from Dynamo to [a team struggling in] the Premier League,” Leonenko, who earned 14 caps for his country, tells UKR Football.
“Everton is constantly fighting for survival.”
Everton certainly won’t the only English-based club to take note of Mykolenko at Dynamo Kiev. According to The Athletic, Stanley Park neighbours Liverpool scouted the left-back at one point.
Ukrainian agent Vyacheslav Zakhovailo said, via UA Football, that Newcastle were interested a few weeks before Mykolenko arrived at Everton. Italian giants Roma, then under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho, were heavily linked at the time too.
Mykolenko has played the full 90 minutes in all but one of the 13 Premier League games in which he has featured in 2024/25. And while the tough-tackling 25-year-old may have endured a slow start to the campaign – there are still major doubts over his attacking output – no one could accuse Mykolenko of stagnating in English football.
Everton icon Leon Osman sung Mykolenko’s praises a few months back, the winter addition winning him over with his aggression and his fearless approach against the league’s finest widemen.
“It’s been an incredible rise from Vitaliy Mykolenko,” Osman told BBC Sport. “When he first joined, I wasn’t certain about him.
“He looks stronger this season and is happy to go toe-to-toe with wingers. He’s one of the first men on the team sheet now.” ...CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE➤
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