Arsenal initially sought to sign Pedro Neto from Wolves, but Mikel Arteta has shifted his focus to acquiring a different winger for the team. Chelsea recently surprised many by securing Neto in a £54m transfer, granting him a seven-year contract.
Neto made his debut for Chelsea in their recent loss to Manchester City and also played in their Europa Conference League victory over Servette. Since joining Wolves from Lazio in 2019, he has scored 14 goals in 135 appearances, though his time at Molineux was marred by recurring injuries.
Arsenal’s interest in Neto was sincere, as confirmed by The Athletic’s David Ornstein, who revealed that the Gunners made a formal offer for him while he was still at Wolves. Despite strong links to Neto last summer and in the January transfer window, Arsenal will now look at other options for a winger.
Arteta aims to bring in a winger to either back up Bukayo Saka on the right or to compete with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on the left.
Transfer expert Ornstein mentions that Arsenal are particularly interested in Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao, who is also a target for Barcelona. Despite significant European interest, Williams is likely to stay at Bilbao for another season before potentially moving on for a large transfer fee next summer.
While a new winger is a priority, Arteta’s main focus remains on signing a midfielder, with Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad close to joining the Gunners. Arsenal have already signed Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori and may seek a striker for additional depth and competition.
But club legend Paul Merson was surprised Arsenal did not push harder to beat Chelsea to the signing of Neto and believes he could be ‘incredible’ at Stamford Bridge.
‘If Chelsea can keep him fit, I think it is an incredible signing,’ Merson said on Sky Sports.”
“If you want to play a certain way of football, similar to Man City and Arsenal where they play two wide players and get the ball out – this is what Chelsea need to do.”
“If you can get Neto on the pitch, he is top draw. I think Arsenal missed a trick with him. If he goes to Arsenal he takes the workload of [Bukayo] Saka and [Gabriel] Martinelli.”
“Chelsea were very shrewd – they did it very quickly and very quietly. It’s a good signing.”
