Missing Rogers Was Not the Biggest Issue; Missing £60m Pedro Was Arsenal's Biggest Mistake

Missing out on Morgan Rogers this summer may have been disappointing for Arsenal, but the real issue may have happened earlier — Joao Pedro, who Chelsea signed from Brighton for £60 million last year, is arguably the player the Gunners should regret missing out on most.

According to BBC Sport, Chelsea paid Brighton a transfer fee of £60 million for Pedro. The Brazilian forward scored 25 goals in his first 56 appearances after joining, and his value for money stands out compared with several more expensive but less successful transfers during the same period. At just 24 years old, he still has room to continue developing.

Ready to make an immediate impact, Pedro's start at Chelsea has been close to perfect.

After joining Chelsea last summer, Pedro quickly made an impact and helped the club win the Club World Cup. He has remained in excellent form this season, contributing four goals or assists in his first two matches. Tomorrow, Chelsea will visit Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, giving Pedro an ideal opportunity to show the Gunners the qualities they have lacked in attack.

Arsenal also signed a striker last summer — Viktor Gyokeres, whose transfer fee was slightly higher than the amount Chelsea paid for Pedro, but so far the goal return from that investment has been slightly lower. Although Gyokeres had outstanding scoring numbers at Sporting CP and attracted significant attention when he joined, the Sweden international's position in the squad appears to have fallen after German forward Kai Havertz returned to full fitness.

Is Pedro a better fit for Arsenal than Rogers?

There are strong reasons to believe that Pedro is better than both Gyokeres and Havertz, and his contribution to this Arsenal team could even exceed that of a top attacking midfielder such as Rogers. It is well known that Arteta's side originally planned to bring Rogers to north London this summer, but they already have a similar-style player in that position in Eberechi Eze, while new signing Christos Tzolis, despite not being a high-profile name upon arrival, has already made a strong impression.

Havertz or Gyokeres may eventually prove themselves at Arsenal, or the Gunners could spend heavily on Julian Alvarez or a similar player in the future, but in today's inflated transfer market, they may struggle to find another player offering the kind of £60 million-level value that Pedro represented.

To be fair, Arsenal are not alone in this situation — other clubs also spent large sums on seemingly less effective forwards last summer. Chelsea's transfer strategy has faced criticism, and they did pay excessive fees for some underperforming players, but Pedro, like Cole Palmer, is undoubtedly one of the club's smartest signings.