Arsenal have eight immediate Pedro Neto alternatives…

Arsenal have eight immediate Pedro Neto alternatives if deadline passes for £50m summer transfer

This summer's transfer window remains open until 11pm on Thursday, September 1, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that Arsenal will be signing Wolves winger Pedro Neto.

After deals to bring in Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko were completed before the end of July, things have become a lot quieter regarding potential incomings for the Gunners with manager Mikel Arteta and Edu opting to prioritise player sales instead.

However, last week it was revealed that Neto was the 'mystery winger' that the Arsenal technical director had been targeting for the past month and following Nicolas Pepe's loan move to OGC Nice, plans to replace the Ivory Coast international came to light - but time is running out to complete the mission.

"If we can implement the plan that we have, we will try to do [it]. In that plan, that [Pepe leaving] was something that could happen," Arteta told reporters. "Now it is a reality, and we have been preparing the last two months in order to achieve what we want. Whether that is possible or not, we will see."

Whilst football.london have been told that Wolves would demand in excess of £50m for Neto and that there was a slight chance of a transfer happening this summer - but only on the West Midlands outfit's terms - going off the latest reports from The Athletic, a deal is taking the winger to the Emirates Stadium before the deadline is looking increasingly unlikely.

So with the Portugal international seemingly set to stay at Molineux Stadium, Arteta and Edu will have to act swiftly and decisively to improve the first-team squad before the summer transfer window slams shut, as links to Neto and previous interest in Raphinha shows they are keen to add another forward to the ranks.

Now, the reason for the Gunners' interest in Neto is because he is Premier League proven. He fits the age criteria of being 25 or younger and his ability to play on both flanks, which means he could have provided cover and competition for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, who appear to be the first-choice options at the moment.

Of course, it's very easy to suggest turning to the plan b option in the transfer market, with Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha a popular choice amongst some supporters whilst talk of signing PSV Eindhoven's Cody Gakpo or Real Madrid ace Marco Asensio have recently resurfaced.

Although some of the solutions could be staring Arteta right in the face, Emile Smith Rowe can operate on both flanks, Fabio Vieira's versatility has been spoken about in great detail following his arrival from Porto as he is an option out wide as well as in central midfield.

"We are already trying him in different positions in training," Arteta told football.london, when asked what position he saw the 22-year-old playing. "He's played on the left, right, as a false nine and an attacking midfielder, so it's good. He doesn't want to be locked in any one position because he's so used to it, and that's a really positive thing for us."

Fellow summer signing Marquinhos has already impressed at U21s level and won't be heading out on loan for the first half of the season, so depending on how his development goes can emerge as another internal solution to end up saving the Gunners millions of pounds.

Reiss Nelson appears to have recovered from injury earlier than expected and could be one to benefit from no further arrivals in the forward line. He's coming off an impressive campaign on loan with Feyenoord and was tipped to replace Pepe after scoring in a pre-season match in Orlando City.

Beyond those six players, whilst Arteta may not want to be in a position to call upon Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko to operate on the flanks, both have experience of doing so at former clubs - more so the Brazilian as a right-winger recently under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City - effectively handing Arsenal eight internal solutions if a deal for Neto can't be agreed.

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