£50,000-a-week Arsenal player will actually be blocked from appearing in upcoming fixture for rare reason

In addition to Declan Rice, another Arsenal star will be banned from playing one of the next few games for the Gunners.

In case you missed it, Rice will be suspended for Arsenal’s north London derby clash against Tottenham in N17 after the international break, as a result of his two yellow cards in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brighton.

However – aside from Declan Rice – another Arsenal player will be blocked from playing under Mikel Arteta in an upcoming fixture…

Why Arsenal cannot use Neto

Arsenal signed Neto on loan from Bournemouth on transfer deadline day – with the Brazil international arriving to replace Aaron Ramsdale after the England international’s £25m move to Southampton.

However, the South American might not play for Arsenal until 2025.

Before agreeing to let Neto depart, Bournemouth used the Brazilian in a 1-0 Carabao Cup second round defeat to West Ham, making the man from Araxa cup tied as a result.

It means Arsenal are unable to use the 35-year-old in the upcoming Carabao Cup third round clash against Bolton on September 17th, and are unable to field the £50,000-a-week glovesman in any other Carabao Cup games should they progress in the competition.

It is rare to see a cup tied player at this level – especially a goalkeeper who has specifically been signed to play in these type of games – although it at least means David Raya will be kept sharp throughout the first half of the 2024/25 campaign.

Whether Brazil international can play in the FA Cup

Some Arsenal fans have been wondering whether the term cup tied applies to both domestic cup competitions.

Supporters will be pleased to know that being cup tied only applies to the competition in which the appearance took place, so Neto is free to play in the FA Cup when that competition begins for Arsenal in January 2025.

If Raya were to suffer an injury before Arsenal’s involvement in the Carabao Cup is over, it is expected that 18-year-old Tommy Setford would step in to replace the Spain international.

In case you had not heard, Arsenal signed Setford from Ajax in a deal worth around £700,000 back in July, and the England U19 international was named on the bench in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Brighton.