Ian Wright is almost always right when he speaks about Arsenal.
The legendary Englishman wasn’t just an incredible player back in the day, but he is also a massive Gooner and loves the club dearly.
Wright is arguably the biggest supporter among former players too, and it’s always great to listen to him speak about Arsenal.
However, we think Mikel Arteta won’t be in agreement with what the Gunners legend has just said about Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes.
Bruno Fernandes becomes available right now, are you taking him at Arsenal at the expense of another player?
Ian Wright says he would take Bruno Fernandes at Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta will surely disagree
Fernandes has been in the news a lot in recent days.
The Portugal international revealed in a bombshell interview recently that Manchester United wanted him to leave the club. That clearly hurt him.
Fernandes has been the Red Devils’ best player by a distance since joining them, and he is still going strong in the Premier League despite all the other problems at the club.
While discussing his situation, Ian Wright was furious with United’s treatment of their captain. He went on to say that he would take the midfielder at Arsenal.
“They gave him the opportunity and said: ‘If you want to stay, you can stay, but if you want to go, you can go.’ What is that saying? I would take him tomorrow,” he said on the Stick to Football podcast.
This isn’t the first time he has said this, either. In May 2025, Wright claimed that he wished Fernandes played for Arsenal.
However, there is no way Arteta would entertain this move.
Yes, Fernandes is a phenomenal midfielder, one of the best in the Premier League.
But some of his antics on the pitch – going down too easily, not pressing as much as he should and having a go at his own teammates – will not go down well with the Arsenal manager, who expects the best behaviour from every one of his players.
If you were Andrea Berta and could sign any player in the world right now, who would it be and why?
Forget his attitude, there’s another reason why Arsenal will never sign Bruno Fernandes
Arteta will definitely not be a fan of Fernandes’ attitude on the pitch at times, but even if he ignores that, Arsenal will still not sign him.
That’s because the Portuguese superstar does not fit the Gunners’ transfer philosophy.
Arsenal only sign players over the age of 30 as backups to their key players. The likes of Jorginho, Neto and Christian Norgaard were not brought in to start every game.
Fernandes, who is 31 already, will not accept a role as a backup behind Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze when he can be a starter at most other clubs in the world.
For that reason, this move is never going to happen.
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