Report: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta unconvinced by 22-year-old who Tottenham signed this summer

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was unconvinced by Emerson Royal and pulled the plug on a potential transfer, the Athletic report.

Major doubts

It has previously been claimed that Arsenal’s recruitment staff were unconvinced by Emerson.

But it turns out that it was actually Arteta who opened the door for Tottenham Hotspur to sign the 22-year-old from Barcelona.

Arteta apparently had some concerns over whether Emerson would fit into his system, with Arsenal opting to go for Takehiro Tomiyasu to play at right-back instead.

Emerson ultimately ended up at Tottenham, with Nuno clearly having less worries about the attacking right-back.

Emerson has only played once for Spurs so far, in a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, but there are hopes that he can improve Tottenham’s attacking play.

Arsenal, meanwhile, appeared to want to sign a more reliable defender.

Tomiyasu has already shown exactly what he can offer this Gunners’ side in that respect too.

The Japanese international helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet against Norwich City at the weekend, as they picked up their first win of the season.

And it will be interesting to see which of the North London teams made the better transfer decision this summer as time progresses.