Arsenal looking to sign £60m star who’s a “right-sided Martinelli”

With Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side pushing for the Premier League title this year, they are relying on some of their biggest stars to help get them over the line, especially considering some of the crunch games they have coming up.

Bukayo Saka, although struggling with injury at the moment, has been superb so far in 2023/24 – contributing to 29 goals – and Declan Rice, who is fresh off the back of captaining England on his 50th cap, has lived up to his large price tag of £105m including add-ons.

It has been a less smooth ride for Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli, one of Arsenal’s most important players.

So far, he has just ten Premier League goal involvements, although his form has picked up of late, registering an assist against Newcastle and then a goal and assist away to Sheffield United.

With trophies to push for in the coming seasons under Arteta, there is no surprise that rumours have spread of late linking the Gunners to a new option out wide, with their apparent interest intensifying in recent weeks.

Arsenal ‘like’ Premier League winger

The player in question is Wolverhampton Wanderers and Portugal winger Pedro Neto.

The West Midlands outfit has made some excellent profit in the last year from sales, and Neto could be next in line to earn them a big payday. Indeed, according to Fabrizio Romano, Arteta’s side are interested in bringing Neto to The Emirates.

The reporter revealed in his Daily Briefing on Wednesday: “Pedro Neto is a player Arsenal like and have looked at before, but we have to wait for Wolves to decide initial price tag to understand what Arsenal, Tottenham and more clubs will decide to do.”

Gary O’Neil’s side could charge Arsenal upwards of £60m for the Portuguese winger, according to Nizaar Kinsella of The Standard. Neto could be one of a few big departures from Molineux, with Rayan Ait-Nouri another player of interest to Premier League clubs this summer.

This could be seen as a risky move on the Gunners’ part, considering Neto’s frustrating injury record. The 24-year-old has missed 109 games for club and country since joining Wolves from Lazio in 2019.

Arsenal will be one of many sides challenging for Neto’s signature this summer. The winger, who has five caps and one goal at full international level for Portugal, is also said to be piquing the interest of North London rivals Tottenham, and fellow title challengers Liverpool, ahead of the summer transfer window.

How Pedro Neto compares to Gabriel Martinelli

There is little doubt to Arsenal fans and neutrals alike that Arteta needs to recruit out wide, to give himself better options and allow Bukayo Saka to rest.

The 22-year-old has played 2275 minutes in the Premier League this season, according to WhoScored. William Saliba (2520) and Declan Rice (2399) are the only Arsenal players to have played more.

Neto could certainly be the answer to their depth issues. The 24-year-old has lit up Molineux this season, with two goals and nine assists to his name in just 18 Premier League starts. Despite his lack of game time, he is one assist away from joint-topping the list in the top flight this season.

Stylistically, Neto is very similar to Martinelli, so much so, that football analyst Ben Mattinson described him as ‘a right-sided Martinelli’ on X. He is a quick, direct winger who is a superb ball-carrier and a huge threat in transition, exactly like Martinelli.

Both Neto and Martinelli’s standout skillset is their ball-carrying, and they have very similar numbers per 90 minutes, according to Fbref. Neto averages 5.30 progressive carries per 90 minutes, ranking him in the top 12% of positionally similar wingers in Europe, with Martinelli averaging slightly more, 5.46 progressive carries per 90 minutes, which ranks him in the top 11%.

The word ‘direct’ was mentioned earlier, implying their willingness to run at defenders and drive into the penalty box. This is reflected in both players’ numbers, as per Fbref.

Neto averages 2.34 carries into the penalty box per 90 minutes on average, placing him in the top 17%. Martinelli is even better, averaging 3.35 carries into the penalty box per 90 minutes, placing him in the top 4%.

Where Neto excels over Martinelli is his creativity. Aside from his nine Premier League assists this season, the 24-year-old averages 0.83 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes this season, placing him in the top 3%. In comparison, Martinelli averages 0.68 goal-creating actions per 90 mins, enough to place him in the top 15%. Neto’s superb creativity will only enhance the threat of the Gunners’ attack.

There is little doubt that Neto would improve Arsenal. He would offer something different to Saka on the right wing and would be able to come into games where Arsenal may have space in behind and be a huge threat. For the fee of £60m he could cost, it would be a smart move for Arsenal, although risky given his injury record.