Arsenal’s rebuild under Mikel Arteta is set to see many players come and go. And the club will scout players and identify targets. While they are no strangers to doing so, the latest reports linking them with Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi shows that the process could already be underway. Many fans are already reaching for their Skype betting accounts in the hope that they might get good odds on Arsenal winning something next season.
Around 2013, Berardi was one of the best talents in not just in Calcio but in European football itself. Berardi was co-owned by Juventus in 2013 and there was intense talk of him playing for the club’s first-team once his spell at the neroverdi ended. But the spell increased for another season until he became a permanent player for Sassuolo, ending ties with Juve.
Berardi was linked with a move to Roma in the summer of 2018 when the club had Monchi as their sporting director. But the move never went through, as the giallorossi also failed in their approach for Hakim Ziyech.
While he isn’t the wonderkid was as a teenager but Berardi has become a key player for the neroverdi over the years. His versatility across the front-three is important, but he hasn’t achieved his tally of 15 goals in the 2014-15 season ever since then. Even though his contributions have been low from that campaign onwards, there has been a real steadiness about his performances.
This season, the Italian has got nine goals and five assists while playing 19 games in Serie A. Playing as a regular right-winger in Roberto De Zerbi’s attacking system he has come up with 1.8 key passes per game and has completed 1.5 dribbles per game as well. His tally of 4.1 shots per game has helped him score more and attain his highest goal tally since the big 2014-15 season.
He is known to be the sort of player who likes to get on the ball and do the work. He constantly cuts inside, creating for others and scoring. He has a final third passing accuracy of 66 percent as he takes 4.7 touches in the box for the club. Getting in the final third allows him the freedom to do his stuff and execute his strengths perfectly.
His ability to pick up 2.5 fouls per game is crucial too, as it allows his teams to use set-pieces to very good effect. Some years ago, Arrigo Sacchi had heaped praise on Berardi. The former AC Milan managed had said:
“Berardi is a player of great talent, a modern footballer who plays for the team all over the field,” said Sacchi in quotes reported by FourFourTwo.
“He has liveliness, intuition, temperament and strength combined with a good technique. He is an introverted youngster, but with his head on his shoulders. I don’t think popularity will make him lose enthusiasm and desire to improve.”
When an Italian legend talks about anyone like that, it certainly is high praise. Time might have passed since then and Berardi might not be a youngster anymore, but his abilities are quite the same. He’s a key player for them and often carries them from the heart of the park in an attacking sense. You can see how highly rated he is on every sports trading platform, his stats are very good.
But as for Arsenal, that move wouldn’t be the best for someone like Nicolas Pepe. They spent huge money on the Frenchman and they are similar sort of players. While Berardi is more mature, they like to cut in and do things. While Berardi does have good enough numbers and ability to play for a bigger club than Sassuolo, Arsenal might not be the place for him.
