Two players Arsenal tracked in the summer transfer window ended up at Manchester United, and both have underperformed.
It’s concerning that Andrea Berta’s striker options at Arsenal were Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres.
Since their respective summer transfers to the Premier League, both strikers have struggled to do what they were hired to do: score goals.
Arsenal might have regrets with Gyokeres, but they’ll be relieved that they didn’t sign Sesko, and the same applies to Matheus Cunha, the other target who ended up at Old Trafford.
Forget Sesko and Gyokeres, why didn’t Andrea Berta sign _________ instead?
Manchester United fans aren’t impressed with Matheus Cunha, who was targeted by Arsenal
Arsenal showed an interest in Cunha when he was readying himself to leave Wolves last season.
Given that Cunha had a release clause of £62.5m and had contributed to 21 Premier League goals for Wolves in 2024/25, he seemed like an attractive target, but now, Arsenal will be glad they missed out.
On X, Man United fans couldn’t stop talking about Cunha after their FA Cup exit against Brighton, and the feedback wasn’t positive.
“Honest conversation about Matheus Cunha needed,” one X user posted.
Another responded, “His first touch is abysmal.”
Fans didn’t stop complaining about Cunha, who is really not living up to expectations at Old Trafford.
If Matheus Cunha had signed for Arsenal, do you think he’d be performing better?
“He’s been a disappointment all season bar few games, expected more,” one fan wrote.
Another Man United fan joked, “Cunha is an offensive footballer (he offends me every time he plays)”
Arguably, the most emphatic piece of feedback about Cunha was one United supporter claiming that the Brazilian is one of United’s worst signings ever.
“Based on price + expectation vs reality Cunha has to be like top 5 most disappointing signings in Man Utd history.”
That’s saying something, given how Alexis Sanchez’s transfer to Old Trafford played out, as well as a long list of others who failed at the club.
Why Mikel Arteta didn’t want to sign Cunha at Arsenal
Anyway, back to an Arsenal point of view, and it’s clear to see that Arteta certainly made the right call to not sign Cunha in the summer.
Interestingly, it wasn’t because of the 26-year-old’s performance levels that the Arsenal manager turned his head in the other direction.
It’s understood that Cunha’s discipline was a red flag for Arteta, as the forward was sidelined due to two unnecessary suspensions last season.
The boss arguably didn’t see Cunha as a good fit for the dynamic in the Arsenal squad, and time is proving that he was right to pull the plug.
For an expensive signing with Premier League experience, Cunha isn’t anywhere near the level United fans hoped, which is only good news for the Gunners after their interest.
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