Arsenal could have signed another Bukayo Saka for just £11m, Mikel Arteta will be kicking himself - opinion

During the opening 45 minutes of Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal on Sunday, Mikel Arteta surely felt a tinge of regret.

In the ninth minute – right in front of where the Spaniard stood on the sideline – Savinho embarrassed Riccardo Calafiori with a sharp turn, before slotting a perfectly weighted pass into Erling Haaland to finish beyond David Raya with one touch.

However – had things turned out differently – the Manchester City No.26 very easily could have been pushing Bukayo Saka for a start at Arsenal instead…

Arsenal will surely regret missing out on Savinho even more after 2-2 draw

In case you were unaware, Arsenal pushed hard to sign Savinho from Atletico Mineiro back in January 2022 – according to Brazilian news outlet UOL.

Edu Gaspar – who boasts strong connections in Brazil, which helped to sign Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano for just £6m – was said to be working on a deal to sign the South American forward.

However – just months later – the City Football Group paid over the odds to sign Savinho in a £10.5m deal, before assigning him to Troyes at first.

The Brazilian was eventually loaned to Girona – another side under the City Football Group umbrella – before sealing a £30m move to Manchester City back in July.

Would have been ideal competition for Bukayo Saka

Arteta tends to use Saka as often as possible, given the fact there is no similar profile to the England international – a left footed winger who cuts inside – at the Emirates Stadium.

However, that is exactly the type of player Savinho is, and the 20-year-old would have been a bargain had Arsenal ended up securing the £10.5m deal instead of the City Football Group.

This profile is rare – hence why Manchester United spent over £80m to sign Antony – but hopefully, Arteta and Edu can find a similar type of player to help Saka in one of the 2025 transfer windows.