2. Douglas Costa
Douglas Costa is widely regarded as the most exciting player in Shakhtar’s squad, and was one of the six players who initially refused to return to Ukraine due to the political turmoil. He has since returned, but there is no denying that the Brazilian is unsettled, and a sizeable offer from a top Premier League club could be enough to tempt Shakhtar into selling their star player. Costa has previously spoke of his unrest at the Ukrainian champions, stating “I like the club, the people, the city, but I’m afraid. We want to stay at the club, but we must have risk-free working conditions.”
Costa is a skillful players with an eye for goal, and has regularly impressed for Shakhtar, producing eye-catching displays in the Champions League in particular. He can play as a right winger, left winger or central attacking midfielder, and would give the necessary versatility to the Gunners’ attacking forces. He also possesses bags of pace, something which the Gunners lacked due to injuries last season. What’s more, he can pick a killer through ball, and displays impressive all-round technical ability, so would slot right into the Gunners’ midfield, and provide good link-up play with the likes of Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez. Finally, Costa possesses more natural skill than most of the Arsenal forwards, so would provide a different dimension to the Gunners’ attack, something which would prove invaluable in a title race.
With Costa’s future at Shakhtar uncertain, and the player still at the young age of 23, Arsenal could do much worse than to target this Brazilian star. An offer in the region of £15.8m would reportedly be enough to pry Costa away from Ukraine, and with the Gunners’ new-found financial freedom, it’s certainly a possibility that Douglas Costa could be Arsenal’s next acquisition.