Following his Arsenal exit, it’s easy to poke holes in or praise Edu Gaspar’s work in hindsight, who oversaw a real improvement during his five years at the club.
Arsenal are now well-positioned to win serious silverware under Mikel Arteta and Edu has to be given credit.
However, Arsenal fans may also be excited for change too, after all, Edu’s work hasn’t yielded proper success just yet, and the Gunners’ summer transfer window now looks worse by the week.
Riccardo Calafiori should be a success, but the jury is still out on Mikel Merino and it’s hard to argue against the idea that Raheem Sterling has disappointed at Arsenal.
That being said, Arsenal Insider understands that scouts at the club already regret that they weren’t able to sign Joao Neves from Benfica this summer, who went to Paris Saint-Germain instead.
Arsenal scouts absolutely loved Joao Neves but PSG caught them napping
Before he signed for PSG in early August, 20-year-old Neves was strong in Arsenal’s thinking, who were in the market for a new midfielder before they signed Merino.
Merino wasn’t Arsenal’s first choice option, and Neves is now viewed as ‘the one who got away’ by staff at the Emirates Stadium.
READ MORE: How Arsenal plan to react to Edu Gaspar’s departure, there is already one replacement they like
Since he signed for PSG for £60m in their post-Kylian Mbappe revamp, Neves has arguably been one of the best performers across Europe.
The diminutive defensive midfielder has taken to Ligue 1 extremely well, a player who may have needed a tad more time to adapt in the Premier League.
But either way, Arsenal are ruing that they were caught cold by PSG, who snuck in when Edu and his team were perhaps exploring other options first.
Martin Zubimendi was possibly the focus of the club’s attention whilst Neves was snatched away, a player who was made to feel like first choice by the French champions.
Thomas Partey could benefit from Joao Neves failure
Given that a new number six didn’t arrive in the summer, Partey has continued to play as Arsenal’s number six this season, dovetailing with Declan Rice on occasion.
Arteta said Partey could sign a new contract following his much-improved fitness record this season.
Whether that would stop Arsenal from seeking a Neves alternative in the future remains to be seen.
But there are still question marks over Jorginho’s future at Arsenal, who isn’t thought to be on the cusp of a new contract just yet.
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