1. Bernard
Like Costa, young Brazilian Bernard is spoken of as one of the most talented players is Shakhtar’s young squad, and has bags of potential at the age of just 21. Like Costa, Bernard has grown worried about staying in Ukraine due to the current political strife, and as such has stated that he would be forced to move on should the situation intensify. In fact, Bernard went so far as to state that he has already made arrangements for a potential emergency exit – could these arrangements include a deal with Arsenal?
Bernard is a supremely talented and skillful player. At the age of just 21, Bernard already has 14 caps for Brazil, scoring for the national team on one occasion. He looks set for a bright future in an albeit troubled Brazilian side, but enjoyed a moderately successful World Cup, primarily used as an impact player from the bench. Like Douglas Costa, Bernard can play on either side of the wings, or as a central attacking midfielder. However, he specialises in the left wing position, and has been touted as a potential Santi Cazorla replacement at Arsenal, should the ageing Spaniard move on this summer.
Bernard also possesses blistering pace and skill, which make him one of the most difficult players in the world to keep under wraps. As remarked on before, the Gunners were often criticised for having too many creative players and not enough pacey players in the team last season. However, Bernard would provide the perfect solution: a creative, yet pacey player, with an eye for goal and the tendency to produce eye-catching skill with regular frequency. Arsenal could certainly do with such a player in order to add a different dimension to their already impressive attacking options. With Bernard’s future at Shakhtar less than certain, he could be just the solution to the Gunners’ left-wing woes.
By Lucas Jones (Twitter: @LucasJones4)