LATEST NEWS: “Reasons Behind Arsenal’s New ‘Dream’ Signing Being Ineligible Against Bolton as Mikel Arteta Faces a Difficult Decision.”
Arsenal will have to compete against Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup third round without one of their new summer signings. During the transfer window, the Gunners made significant additions to their squad, including securing David Raya with a long-term contract and bringing in Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino.
On transfer deadline day, Edu finalized two loan deals for Raheem Sterling and Neto. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, Neto will not be able to make his debut when Arsenal faces the League One side on Wednesday night. Before moving from the south coast to north London, Neto had already played three matches for Bournemouth this season—two in the Premier League and one in the second round of the Carabao Cup. The 35-year-old goalkeeper had captained Bournemouth during their 1-0 loss to West Ham at the London Stadium.
Although Bournemouth has been eliminated from the tournament, Neto cannot play for Arsenal in this competition due to its regulations. According to Rule 6.4 of the Carabao Cup Rules Handbook, “No registered player shall play for more than one club in the competition in any one season.”
In contrast, Sterling, who was also signed on loan from a club participating in the Carabao Cup, will be eligible to play for Arsenal, as he has not participated in this season’s tournament for Chelsea.
With Neto unavailable, Arteta will likely select either Raya, Jack Porter, or Tommy Setford, who joined from Ajax in July, to start as goalkeeper against Bolton. Therefore, Neto’s ‘dream’ of debuting for Arsenal will have to be postponed for now.
Upon joining Arsenal, Neto expressed that playing for the club was a lifelong dream. In an interview with the official club website, he stated, “I’m realizing a dream in my life, a dream come true, and I’m really, really happy. I had two dreams as a kid to play for a football team. It was my team in Brazil, where I grew up and became a professional footballer, and also Arsenal. And now I’m realizing it! I’m a really lucky person.”
He also shared a message for the Arsenal supporters, saying, “To all the supporters of Arsenal, I’d just like to say I’m one more fan here. My dream has come true, I’m really happy. Depend on me, I’ll give more than 100% to give everything for Arsenal.”
Ahead of the Carabao Cup third round, Arteta was asked about Raya’s potential playing time. Keeping his intentions ambiguous, the Gunners manager responded, “Let’s see how they are today. We’ll try to make a call on that if we believe that’s a possibility.”