Neto was brilliant in the last two seasons for Valencia (Getty Images)
According to a report from the Express, Arsenal are eyeing a summer swoop for Barcelona’s second-choice goalkeeper Neto as a backup for Bernd Leno.
Neto started out at the Cruzeiro youth academy, before joining Atletico Paranaense. In 2011, he moved to Europe, joining Serie A club Fiorentina. The goalkeeper spent four years at the club, making 101 appearances, before joining Juventus in 2015.
During his time in Turin, he largely played second-fiddle to Gigi Buffon and managed just 22 appearances in two seasons. In 2017, he joined La Liga club Valencia, where he would go on to feature 80 times in two years. Last summer saw him make the move to Barcelona.
However, he has hardly played for the Catalans since joining the club. The 30-year-old has featured just four times in all competitions for the La Liga champions, failing to keep a single clean sheet.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have endured a difficult 2019/20 campaign. Having started poorly under Unai Emery, the Gunners sacked the Spaniard in December and handed over the reins to Mikel Arteta. Under the former midfielder, the performances and the results have improved to a certain extent. But they still remain 9th in the Premier League table and have crashed out of the Europa League.
This would mean that chances of playing in the Champions League next season are very slim for Arsenal. Furthermore, if they do not end the season strongly, they miss out on qualification for the Europa League as well. Such a situation would hit them hard financially, restricting their spending power in the transfer market in the summer.
In addition, the suspension of football due to coronavirus has taken a toll on the finances of all Premier League clubs, including Arsenal. Given the situation, it would be ill-advised for the North London outfit to invest on a new goalkeeper, when there are other positions in the squad that need urgent reinforcements.
In Bernd Leno, they have one of the top goalkeepers in the Premier League. While the German may have kept just 8 clean sheets in 30 games this season, he has made a number of top saves, helping Arsenal on quite a few occasions. In addition, there is also a decent backup in Emiliano Martinez. The Colombian has kept 5 clean sheets in 11 appearances in 2019/20.
Neto may have featured just four times this season. But the Brazilian is attracting a lot of interest from the likes of AC Milan, Sevilla and Ajax, which could drive the transfer fee very high. (h/t Express)
Thus, the Barcelona man would be an unfeasible choice for Arsenal at the moment. Instead, the Gunners must look to bolster their centre-back department.
Arsenal are likely to be operating on a tight budget in the summer, which could get even smaller if they fail to qualify for Europe. With Leno and Martinez in the squad, there is no need for them to invest in a new goalkeeper at the moment. Instead, they should use the funds to strengthen other areas in the summer.
