Arsenal have turned their attentions away from the difficult pursuit of Pedro Neto – and could look to sign a Ukrainian wonderkid instead.
The Gunners are the only team in the Premier League left with a 100% record after winning their opening four fixtures but manager Mikel Arteta still seems concerned with his squad. The likes of Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus have all arrived to add depth but Arteta has seemed adament in recent weeks that another player is needed.
“We are really active, as you can see with incomings and outgoings,” the Basque boss said recently. “Everything is still open, it’s a long window, a lot has happened, it’s incredible how much business the clubs have done across the Premier League and it shows how competitive it is, and this season is not going to stop that.”
Arsenal would still like to add Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Pedro Neto to their side, though the deal looks "improbable" according to The Athletic's David Ornstein. In the case that the north Londoners can't land the Portuguese talent, it seems as if there are other back-up options in the pipeline.
Wilf Zaha's situation at Crystal Palace has piqued the interest of some fans, while his team-mate Michael Olise has been touted for a big future. Renowned transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, however, says that Arsenal certainly have options.
"One of the names I wanted to mention is (Mykhaylo) Mudryk from Shakhtar," Romano told wettfreunde.
"He's one of the most interesting wingers in the market that many clubs are keen on signing on him, from England, the Bundesliga, from Italy too because he was one of the players followed by Juventus few months ago. And now could be an opportunity, so let's see what Arsenal decide to do."
Mudryk would be a left-turn for Arsenal but fits the bill in a number of respects. A diminutive winger but a powerful runner, the 21-year-old has good physicality – and has played for Arsenal before… sort of. Arsenal Kyiv took Mudryk on loan in 2019.
Aside from this player though, Romano says that a shock move for a Real Madrid star could materialise – but that the Gunners will only target players they want long-term.
"I think they will explore many alternatives," the Italian journalist said. "Pedro Neto is one of the players that they love. Edu really appreciates the player and same for Mikel Arteta. They consider Pedro Neto as perfect player for them but Wolves want more than £50 million so it is a complicated deal for them.
"I would keep my eye on some surprising names till the end because, first point, Arsenal will work as always the names they 'really' want and not on players that they just want to sign as 'one more' and nothing else.
"They want to sign the perfect player. The strategy in January was perfect with Gabriel Jesus because they wanted Vlahovic and that was impossible. They decided not to spend any money on any other strikers. They had two-three strikers on the list and they decided to wait and go for Gabriel Jesus.
"Marco Asensio has been offered by his agent to many important English clubs including Arsenal, Man Utd in the last two weeks. At the moment for Man Utd, he is not the priority. He was one of the options in case the Antony deal did not go through. But now it is almost completed, so it's not the case and I don't see them signing one more winger at this point in the market.
"For Arsenal, there is no direct negotiation with Real Madrid but the relationship with Jorge Mendes is always very good, so could be a last minute idea but at the moment it's not a negotiation.
"For sure, Marco Asensio is looking for an opportunity and till deadline day, he will try to find a nice opportunity because he wants to play. He wants regular playing time. But in case he won't be playing, he will stay at Real Madrid and then next summer, big opportunity to leave on a free.
"So, his agent is potentially working on a free transfer for next summer in case nothing happens this week."
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has declared that the Gunners aren't finished with their spending this summer.
Lucas Paqueta has been heavily rumoured as a target in the centre of midfield, as has Youri Tielemans of Leicester City. Arthur Melo has been touted, too, though new signing Oleksandr Zinchenko – who says its his dream come true to join his boyhood club – can play in midfield as well. N'Golo Kante has also been linked.
A big-money winger seemingly remains the last piece of the puzzle for the Gunners, while Gabriel Jesus' agent has revealed other sides were in for the striker and one wonderkid has departed the Emirates.
