Theo Walcott believes Arsenal should have pushed to sign Pedro Neto in the summer.
The Gunners were regularly linked with the winger during his time at Wolves but Neto instead made a £54million move to Chelsea, signing a seven-year contract.
The strength in depth available to Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge has meant Neto has had to compete with the likes of Noni Madueke, Jadon Sancho and Mykhailo Mudryk for minutes, but he has increasingly made an impression in recent weeks.
Neto got the nod to start against Newcastle and Manchester United and kept his place to face Arsenal on Sunday. He earned Chelsea a point by drilling a low finish past David Raya from just outside the area for his first Premier League goal for the club.
Arsenal did not significantly strengthen in forward areas in the summer, allowing the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira to leave while bringing in only Raheem Sterling, and Walcott has suggested that was a mistake.
“When we talk about Neto – he’s the sort of player who Arsenal maybe could have signed to have given that competition to others players,” he said on Match of the Day 2.
“That’s kind of what they need right now, to provide that competition.”
Neto switched over to the right wing in the second-half against the Gunners and caused Jurrien Timber problems, with Maresca urged by Troy Deeney to deploy the winger on that flank more regularly.
“When you put him out on the right-hand side, because he has that pace, Timber has to back off because he doesn’t know if he is going to run or cross it,” Deeney said.
“If you’re a full-back, you’re thinking ‘he could kick it and run so I can’t get too close’, but if you get really close to him, he can drop his shoulder and run in behind.
“He can shoot, he can cross but also he has got that raw speed which is going to back defenders off and you can see just what an acquisition he’s been for Chelsea.”
