Ruben Neves v Emi Buendia – Are the Gunners right to target the Wolves man?

Ruben Neves.

Ruben Neves v Emi Buendia – Are the Gunners right to target the Wolves man, as rumours hot up ahead of possible move?

By Oscar Haley

This summer is perhaps Arsenal’s biggest in recent memory.

For the first time since 1996, the club finds itself on the outside of European competition, with little in the way of saleable assets to improve a pandemic-hit transfer budget.

In order to avoid falling behind the Premier League’s leading lights, Arsenal must improve their squad if they want to compete for silverware.

Two players who have been mentioned of late that could help remedy this are Wolves’ Ruben Neves and Norwich City’s Emi Buendia.

The latter it now seems is off to Aston Villa, leaving the Gunners to focus on Portuguese playmaker Neves. Is he the better fit for Mikel Arteta’s side?

The case for Ruben Neves 

This season, almost all of Arsenal’s central midfield options have underwhelmed.

Thomas Partey was unable to display his quality on a consistent basis, Granit Xhaka and Mohamed
Elneny continue to divide opinion and Real Madrid loanees Martin Odegaard and Dani Ceballos look set for a return to the Bernabeu this summer.

Since his arrival from Porto in 2017, Neves has been a firm Wolves favourite and consistent Premier League performer.

Known for his passing range, defensive nous and thunderous efforts from distance, the Portuguese international offers Arsenal a more complete presence in the centre of the park.

While Neves would be a costly addition due to the three years remaining on his contract, he would represent an upgrade on the club’s current midfielders.

Deployed predominantly as a defensive midfielder, Neves also offers an impressive level of consistency too, missing just five games over the course of the last three league campaigns.

Additionally, Neves is adept at playing in the engine room of various different tactical systems.

Given that Arteta has failed to settle on a consistent system during his tenure, it would make sense for the club to pursue a player who could fit in comfortably and perform at a high level immediately.

Furthermore, Neves would also provide language support to one of Arsenal’s building blocks of the future, Gabriel Magalhães.

As Arsenal’s sole left-footed centre-half, Gabriel offers more flexibility in defence and their build-up play.

With Portuguese speaker David Luiz departing, it would make sense to surround the Brazilian with a defensive shield who he can communicate with.

The case for Emi Buendia

It’s a case of what might have been for Gunners fans, with Buendia set to sign for Villa.

A different type of player to Neves, should Arsenal have tried harder to get him?

Emi Buendia


While cynics would point out that Buendia contributed just one goal and seven assists in his sole Premier League campaign, the Argentine was in esteemed company when it came to chances created.

In the 2019-2020 Premier League season, Buendia created an eyewatering 55 shooting opportunities from open play. Only Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Sadio Mane created more. 

Read that back again. Only three players created more chances than a midfielder who was part of the worst team in the league that season.

Comfortably playing off the right-hand side or in behind a striker, Buendia likes to float between the lines in an effort to find and exploit pockets of space.

As one of the Championship’s top performers this season, the Argentine contributed to a whopping 30 goals this season (15 goals and 15 assists), helping Norwich return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. 

Who’s the better fit? 

Ultimately, it comes down to priorities.

While Buendia offers an abundance of creativity genius and an opportunity for Arsenal to add a technically gifted talent to their squad,

The question is, do Arsenal really need another Buendia? There can be no doubt he is an exciting and versatile option.

But given the emergence of Emile Smith-Rowe and the improved performances of club record signing Nicolas Pepe, signing a player who would potentially cause a selection headache might not be Arsenal’s best option.

Neves would seem to be the better fit given the lack of quality in Arsenal’s engine room.
Arsenal already have a number of players capable of playing out wide and in behind a striker who would compete with Buendia for game time.

Conversely, Neves offers an immediate upgrade on a position of real need for Arsenal and therefore would be the more sensible option.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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