“Wide of the mark”: Romano says Arsenal were never in on Brazilian

Unsurprisingly, given Arsenal’s status in the Premier League, they are going to be loads of players over the course of just a single transfer window. In the midfield, the club only added Declan Rice and, depending on who you ask, Kai Havertz. The midfielders Arsenal were linked to was a wide net, though. One player who was linked to the club was Gremio midfielder Bitello.

Reports at the time not only suggested that Arsenal were interested in the player but that they were expected to launch a bid. In the end, Arteta’s side missed out on signing someone their scouts have watched, but Fabrizio Romano now reports things were not ever close between the Gunners and Gremio.

Bitello has joined Russian Premier League side Dinamo Moscow from Gremio. Fabrizio Romano states that Arsenal’s pursuit of the midfielder this summer was “always wide of the mark.” The 23-year-old was subject to much interest this summer, given his impressive season in the Brazilian top flight. The former Brazilian U23 international originally joined Gremio in 2018. He helped the club get promoted to the Brasileiro Serie A in 2022.

It was also reported by Fabrizio Romano himself that Arsenal’s scouting department focused on South America had watched Bitello, but at that point in time, Arsenal had not made any contact with Gremio. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Gunners did explore a deal, but nothing was even close to advanced like some sources suggested this summer. The last time Arsenal bought from a South American club was in 2022, when winger Marquinhos joined from Sao Paulo.

90min suggested this summer, the midfielder was available for just £8.5m, but they also said the Gunners were confident in the landing player, which we know now is, as Fabrizio Romano says it, wide of the mark.