Theo Walcott names Chelsea star who Arsenal should have signed this summer

Pedro Neto’s powerful long-range shot found the bottom corner, leveling the score for Chelsea.

This was the Portuguese winger’s first Premier League goal for the Blues, having already scored in the Conference League and Carabao Cup earlier this season.

Signed from Wolves for £54 million in the summer, the 24-year-old has quickly established himself in Enzo Maresca’s starting lineup, playing a full 90 minutes in three consecutive league games.

Though Arsenal had been tracking Neto for years, Mikel Arteta ultimately decided against signing him due to concerns over his injury history.

Walcott, however, believes Arsenal might regret passing on Neto, who could have added valuable depth to the squad amid their recent injury issues.

‘When we talk about Neto – he’s the sort of player who Arsenal maybe could have signed to have given that compeittion to others players,’ he said on Match of the Day 2.

‘That’s kind of what they need right now, to provide that competition.’

A switch to the right-hand side unlocked Neto in the second half and Troy Deeney believes the Portuguese winger should start on that side moving forward.

‘When you put him out on the right-hand side, becaue he has that pace, Timber has to back off because he doesn’t know if he is going to run or cross it,’ he said.

‘If you’re a full-back, you’re thinking “he could kick it and run so I can’t get too close”, but if you get really close to him, he can drop his shoulder and run in behind.

‘With how he is doing, coming in off the right onto that left foot; he can shoot, he can cross but also he has got that raw speed which is going to back defenders off and you can see just what an acquisition he’s been for Chelsea.’

Although Arsenal’s improved performance and the away point offer some encouragement, the Gunners are now without a win in their last four league matches and trail Liverpool at the top of the table by nine points.

Following the international break, Arsenal will face a more manageable set of fixtures. Walcott believes the timing of this break is ideal for his former club.

‘They’ve had a period of time without their leader Martin Odegaard, they’ve played six of last season’s top ten and five of them have been away,’ he said.

‘They are now at at stage where they don’t want Liverpool to get too far away – that’s for certain – but they have their main players back. I know (Bukayo) Saka and Declan (Rice) limped off but they’ve got the international break now, I feel it’s come at a good time for them.

Deeney, however, was less confident, suggesting they cannot afford anymore slip ups if they are to be serious contendors in the league title race.

‘I would say they are in a situation where every game is massivley important,’ the former Watford striker said.

‘If they lose one more time I think they are out of it (the title race) because otherwise they are going to have to beat Liverpool away and (Manchester) City as well.’