Arsenal may have been handed a transfer boost for Pedro Neto, with Wolves signing a potential replacement over the last few days.
After a strong start to their Premier League campaign, Arsenal are said to be looking for more reinforcements this summer, with a winger a potential position for the Gunners to target. A handful of players such as Moussa Diaby, Leroy Sane and Cody Gakpo have been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, but the latest link is with Wolves' Neto.
A long-term target of Arsenal, Neto has been linked with a move to the Gunners after Wolves signed winger Goncalo Guedes for £27.5m. The skilful winger's preferred position is on the left, but the 22-year-old can also play on the right and as a striker.
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If the Gunners were to delve into the transfer market once more this summer and go for Neto, how could their season fare? Could they push for a top four spot and potentially a trophy?
We 'signed' Pedro Neto for Arsenal next season
To set up the simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to transfer the 22-year-old to the Gunners. To get the most realistic results possible, we updated Arsenal's squad with the latest transfers and updated the Premier League with the latest results.
Neto faced competition from Emile Smith-Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli on the left - two players with similar skillsets to the Portugal international. Despite this, Neto made the most appearances out of the three, with his versatility seeing him play when Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka were rested.
The 22-year-old made 42 starts and eight appearances off the bench in the 2022/23 season, scoring 12 goals and grabbing three assists in all competitions. 10 of his 15 goal contributions came in the Premier League, and across the season, Neto averaged a rating of 7.10.
When compared to other forwards in the Arsenal squad, Neto made the second most appearances, scored the third most goals and won the joint-most player of the match awards. He only grabbed three assists, the fifth best out of all the attackers, and he also averaged the third-lowest average rating out of seven forwards.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best Arsenal XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Gunners' best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Arsenal best XI: (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Zinchenko, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Smith-Rowe; Jesus.
Neto failed to make the best XI for Arsenal, with Smith-Rowe sneaking in ahead after registering a higher average rating. New signings Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jesus both made the best XI, though the former started in midfield alongside Thomas Partey rather than at left-back.
Arsenal's results with Neto
The Gunners were involved in a battle for a top four spot all season, and in the end, Arteta's side claimed the fourth place spot on goal difference. Ending the season with 67 points and joint with Manchester United, Arsenal's better goalscoring record saw them edge out United with a +1 better goal difference.
Interestingly, the Gunners tallied two fewer points than the previous season, but with a much better goal difference. Arteta's side failed to win any of their games against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, finishing 19 points behind third.
Despite the worse point tally, the Gunners ultimately hit their goal of getting top four and secured Champions League football for the following season. Arteta's side also made it to one cup final in the 2022/23 season but were unable to win a trophy.
The Gunners met Leeds in the FA Cup final, but a goal from Patrick Bamford in the 117th minute handed the Whites the trophy. Arsenal were eliminated in the Europa League last 16 after losing 2-1 on aggregate to Inter Milan, and a surprise loss to Sheffield United saw Arteta's side eliminated in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Overall this simulation suggests that even though Pedro Neto could be a good signing for the Gunners, he may not be needed, with the 22-year-old producing similar numbers to both Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith-Rowe. Like Martinelli and Smith-Rowe, Neto is still young with much room for improvement, and if the Portugal international was to sign, it could really slow down the growth of the current young duo at the Gunners
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