Arsenal completed two loan deals on the final day of the summer window, bringing in Neto from AFC Bournemouth and Raheem Sterling from Chelsea.
The two players fill a couple of gaps in the squad, with Mikel Arteta lacking a senior backup to David Raya in goal, and struggling with depth in forward areas.
Sterling is a particularly good answer to the forward depth problem, as he’s capable of playing a number of different roles across the front line.
Yet neither player will be involved as Arsenal take on Brighton on Saturday at 12:30 BST.
Premier League rules state that for a player to be eligible for a match, they must be registered by midday on the last working day before the game. In this case, that was noon on Friday.
At that point, Arsenal were still undecided on whether to close the deal for Neto or to sign Joan Garcia from Espanyol, and the Gunners weren’t even close to finalising the Sterling move from Chelsea.
Neither player was added to the squad in time, so neither will be able to face Brighton.
Instead, another summer signing in 18-year-old Tommy Setford will likely need to step up to the first-team bench against Brighton. Arsenal will hope Raya has a trouble-free 90 minutes to avoid throwing the teenager in at the deep end.
Another academy player might be needed on the bench in the absence of Sterling, with Reiss Nelson leaving on loan and Eddie Nketiah departing permanently on deadline day to thin Arteta’s options.
With Mikel Merino out injured, the only summer signings available to Arteta are Raya and Riccardo Calafiori.
