Arsenal are still in the market looking to sign a new centre-forward and as per The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Gunners want to bring Wolves’ Pedro Neto on board.
Gabriel Jesus has been on fire for Arsenal in their first three Premier League matches but Mikel Arteta wants to further strengthen that area by signing Neto.
The Portuguese international joined Wolves in 2019 from Lazio and to date, he’s scored 11 goals in 95 games for the club. Jesus is without a doubt the first-choice centre-forward for Arsenal this season but someone like Neto can become the ideal backup striker.
It’s being claimed that Arsenal have a long-standing interest in the youngster and they have been in talks with the player’s agent for over a month now.
🚨Exclusive: Arsenal have been offered Pedro Neto by his agent Jorge Mendes. Arsenal have held a long-term interest in the 22yo and in recent hours, he has been offered to the Gunners. Pedro Neto is a massive Arsenal fan and would love to play for them. Jorge Mendes, key. #AFC pic.twitter.com/aQAn6e8g61
— PremSource™️ (@PremSource_) August 22, 2022
Will Arsenal be able to sign Pedro Neto before deadline day?
Arsenal already have Eddie Nketiah as their backup striker but despite making him sign a new deal, it’s pretty clear that Mikel Arteta has little faith in him.
He wanted Nketiah to stay back only because he needed time to find an ideal backup to Jesus but we don’t think the Gunners will have time to pull the Pedro Neto deal off.
Firstly, Wolves are not willing to sell him in this window because they don’t have time to find a replacement and secondly, his current deal expires in 2027 so the club are in no hurry to offload him.
His current market value is £29 million and with five years still left in his contract, Wolves can quote an astronomical fee, something which will immediately push Arsenal out of this race.
The North London side have already spent a hell lot of money on new signings this summer so we don’t think they will be able to pay another £40-50 million for Pedro Neto. They might be able to put together such an amount if Nicolas Pepe leaves but right now, no major club is interested in signing him on a permanent deal(he’s likely to move out on a loan deal).
Either Mikel Arteta will have to shift his focus to someone else or the manager will have to put his faith in Eddie Nketiah for the remainder of the campaign.
