Details
fShare

According to Brazilian site O Tempo, Arsenal and Atlético Mineiro have agreed a deal to bring Brazil playmaker Bernard to North London for a fee of around £21m.

This comes after multiple sources, including L’Equipe, claimed yesterday that the Mineiro midfielder would travel to London at the end of the week to complete his medical ahead of a proposed move. However other reports claimed that a decision on the player would only be made after the Copa Libertadores final on Thursday.

As reported on Arsenal Latest yesterday the 20-year-old versatile midfielder has been a target for Tottenham, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Porto and Borussia Dortmund. But if reports are to be believed Arsenal have beaten their competitors in the race for his signature. Bernard has scored 21 times in nearly 100 appearances for the Brazilian side and now has 5 caps to his name.

Following Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Nagoya Grampus however, Wenger claimed that the reports of a deal being done were not true. This naturally prompted Arsenal fans to go into meltdown as Arsene has a habit of denying deals that are close to being completed.

Another midfilder?

However questions are being asked about whether yet another midfielder is the sort of player we are desperately in need of. After Cazorla last season and with Arsenal essentially playing a three man midfield, logic would dictate that central players are the one thing we have an abundance of.

Bernard can play on the wing as well so could make up our front three. Being predominantly left-sided he would have to take Podolski’s position

It seems illogical for Arsenal to sign a player who plays in a position where we actually have depth.

With recent defensive injuries and our well documented desire for a new striker, spending a club record £21m on a midfielder doesn’t seem like a good idea.

Latest:

Follow Arsenal Latest on TwitterRSS FeedFollow Arsenal Latest on facebookSubscribe by email



Follow Arsenal Latest on TwitterRSS FeedArsenal Latest news on FacebookSubscribe by email

fShare

Comments  

+1 #11 TC 2013-07-26 09:11
Quoting Brian N:
Same old, same old. Got the season tkt money in the Bank, but again no buys SAME OLD SAME OLD

Spot on, more bullsh1te by the master of Bulsh1t Wenger, he has got a a nice contract so he is sorted. The fans are being disrespected all over again.
+1 #10 Brian N 2013-07-24 22:23
Same old, same old. Got the season tkt money in the Bank, but again no buys SAME OLD SAME OLD
-2 #9 Nlarsenalblog 2013-07-24 15:40
Bernard IS a winger. Has played there almost exclusively.
+1 #8 Nlarsenalblog 2013-07-24 15:39
Bernard could be a replacement for gervinho. In regards to taking podolskis position, the more the merrier i think. We dont have strength in depth and bernard is a huge talent would give us ox, walcott, podolski, bernard and gnabry as options.
+1 #7 apostolos 2013-07-23 21:38
We still need a defensive midfielder badly, but one that can also play Center Back, someone like Lars Bender/ Luis Gustavo/ Or Etienne Capoue. Bender & Gustavo can also play at LB/RB!
+6 #6 Travis 2013-07-23 20:39
Sell gervinho. Use Bernard on the wing, allowing podolski and walcott to have some goes at cf. Seems conpletely logical to me
+2 #5 REW 2013-07-23 20:08
If we sign Bernard, we will then sell Gervinho for maybe 10m which would mean we only spend 11m. I personal think that would be great business.
-2 #4 Peltonboy 2013-07-23 19:46
So if its true we have signed Bernard, it seems we are not planning on trying to bring Cesc back if Barca decide to sell. I know who I would rather have.
+4 #3 Previgo 2013-07-23 19:42
Who said we have depts on the left wing??? As good as podolski may be, he is not a proper winger, podolski is a CF, bringing benard would mean we would have a recognised out and out left winger who beats his markers with ease(something podolski is not good @) and also it would see to it that santi cazorla plays in his best and prefered position..the CAM rather than been played out wide were he tends to drift out of games sometimes.. And oxlade can compete with theo on the right wing, while poldi and benard make do with the left wing. Assuming our reported €49m bid for suarez is accepted, i wouldnt mind signing benard for £21m, and gustavo for £10m instead of marouane fellaini. Imagine our attack looking like this
theo.................cazorla................benard
............................suarez.............................
A proper winger on the left, a scoring winger on the right, a CAM maestro, and the deadliest CF in the league.. What a team.
+6 #2 Postron 2013-07-23 19:29
It make sense if we are selling Gervinho.
#1 TH Henry 2013-07-23 19:08
Multiple sources will take a made up tweet and turn it into a story for hits.

You heard it hear first.