Arsenal: Ignorance is not a drawback for Mykola Matviyenko

Arsenal may be in on a loan deal for centerback Mykola Matviyenko, but just because you don’t know who that is doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.

Arsenal‘s defensive situation could definitely go for a bit of bolstering, even with David Luiz and Sokratis holding strong (at least sometimes). Shkodran Mustafi is still a liability and Calum Chambers is still out for the year. Meanwhile, Rob Holding is still… somewhere.

Enter 23-year-old Ukrainian Mykola Matviyenko, who plays left-sided centerback for Shakhtar Donetsk. He’s been a vital piece of the puzzle for Shakhtar, and as such they are asking for a ridiculous sum for his permanent services, but a loan first? That makes sense. He is coming from Ukraine, after all.

If you’ve never heard of the guy, you’re not alone. Not everyone keeps up with the Ukranian Premier League, and it’s not like he’s popping up on any top prospect lists either, given that he’s 23-years-old and past that point in his career.

That doesn’t mean this is a bad idea though. I know it’s a bit of a come down going from Dayot Upamecano to Mykola Matviyenko, both in name recognition and international pedigree, not to mention that Upamecano is two years younger.

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But don’t ever lose track of the amount of “unknowns” that just needed that opportunity to prove that they can play at a higher level.

Matteo Guendouzi, for instance. Gabriel Martinelli, for another. Those are teenagers though. Mykola Matviyenko isn’t a teenager anymore. And that’s okay too, there are a lot of fantastic players to move from the Ukrainian giants.

Douglas Costa played at Shakhtar from the age of 20 to 25. Willian is another, he was there until he was 25. Two guys who have stamped themselves onto higher-level clubs.

Of course, the best example is Fernandinho, who didn’t make the move until he was 28, and he didn’t come cheap. Shakhtar know what they have when they ask for the money they ask for, so it’s not outlandish to think that Mykola Matviyenko could be the same. Even though he isn’t Brazilian.

It all comes down to how much you trust the scouting. There’s a reason why Raul Sanllehi and Edu have gravitated towards him. And I trust that gravitation because of the gravitators, which isn’t even a word.

It’s okay not to be thrilled about the prospect of Mykola Matviyenko, but don’t count him out just because you don’t know him.