With Gabriel Jesus sustaining another injury that could see him sidelined for several weeks, and Arsenal having scored the fewest league goals of any side in the top seven, Mikel Arteta will be looking for attacking reinforcements in the January transfer window.
But this week a key target appeared to dismiss a move in the new year, dealing a blow to Arteta’s search for bolstered offensive options.
The Gunners enjoyed a high-spending summer, signing Kai Havertz, Jurriën Timber and Declan Rice for a reported total of £196.3m, and loaning goalkeeper David Raya from Brentford for £3m in their bid to go one better than 2022/23 and win the Premier League title.
So far the signs are promising, with Arteta’s men unbeaten from nine matches and sitting third with 21 points prior to Saturday's game against Sheffield United. However, despite proving tough to beat, only Nottingham Forest and Brentford have drawn more matches than the north Londoners, and their goals for column is lacking compared with their title-chasing peers.
They are therefore on the hunt for someone to help them find the net more frequently, and have been closely linked with Wolves’ Pedro Neto in recent weeks. It’s little surprise: the winger has bagged a goal and six assists from nine league games this season, and has undoubtedly been the star of a hit-and-miss start for Wolves.
His success this season follows two serious injuries in recent campaigns, with a knee and ankle injury respectively forcing him to miss 79 matches since April 2021, making his return to form all the more impressive.
Big-six clubs will have their chequebooks at the ready should he become available, but in an interview with the Telegraph the 23-year-old ruled out a move away from Molineux.
“I want to say that I am here and I will help everyone,” he said. “I love the club and everybody here. I have always felt that it has given a lot to me.
“I’m enjoying the moment here so I will continue to do that. The future and long-term ambitions don’t matter. We will never go down in any situation, we are here to win and fight. I feel really good at the moment and hope to continue.”
Wolves released a host of key players in summer, including Rúben Neves, Conor Coady, Nathan Collins, Raúl Jiménez and Matheus Nunes, while Adama Traoré, João Moutinho and Diego Costa left at the end of their contracts. Unsurprisingly, then, reports say the club have no plans to sell Neto when the window reopens.
So it's back to the drawing board for Arteta and Arsenal, in action against Sheffield United on Saturday before Wolves take on Newcastle United later in the day.
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