‘Big thing’: Journalist shares the real reason why Arsenal didn’t sign Pedro Neto this summer

Pedro Neto has joined Chelsea in what is one of the biggest deals within the Premier League this summer.

The Portuguese star has swapped Molineux for Stamford Bridge, but, at one point, it looked as though he would end up at Arsenal instead.

Indeed, Arsenal were strongly linked with a move for Neto this summer, but, evidently, nothing came of those links.

Speaking on ESPN, James Olley has been discussing Arsenal’s transfer plans, and he shared why the Gunners ultimately didn’t go for Neto.

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Why Arsenal didn’t sign Pedro Neto

Olley shared why Arsenal didn’t go for Neto, claiming that the winger’s injury record was a big problem for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.

“I think that’s one of the reasons Arsenal didn’t end up pursuing Pedro Neto basically. A top player, Chelsea could’ve stolen another one from under their noses there, but he’s missed a lot of games through injury and Arteta has this big thing in his head about reliability,” Olley said.

“Your biggest strength is your availability is how they phrase it internally, Neto is one of those players they were looking at for a long time, but they’ve decided to go elsewhere this summer.”

Pedro Neto move is risky

As the old saying goes, the best ability is availability, and unfortunately, Neto doesn’t seem to manage to stay fit.

Neto has had injury issues almost every single season at Wolves, and you have to wonder whether or not he’s worth the money Chelsea have paid considering how little football he has played in recent years.

This move is a gamble to say the least, and Arsenal may have been wise to swerve this one as they’re not in a position to take these big risks as they push to win the Premier League title.

Chelsea may have made another gung-ho transfer decision that could seriously backfire here.