Luís Boa Morte has said he recommended Arsenal sign Pedro Neto, Rúben Dias, Ederson and Gedson Fernandes, when he was working as a transfer scout for the Gunners.
The Portuguese attacker had two spells with the Gunners and the first was as a player between 1997 and 1998. Two years ago, he said the Arsenal transfer came as a complete surprise for him.
He returned to Arsenal after almost two decades as their scout in 2015 and left them in January 2017, to become SU Sintrense manager.
Since then, the 48-year-old had spells as an assistant manager at Maccabi Haifa, and was Marco Silva’s assistant at Everton and Fulham. In May 2024, he left the London club to become Guinea-Bissau head coach, a position he left a year later.
Last July, he moved to Turkey to join Samsunspor as their assistant manager and is still at the club.
The former midfielder graduated from Sporting’s academy, and they face Mikel Arteta’s side in the Champions League quarter final. The first leg is at the Estádio José Alvalade on April 7th.
Supporting Arsenal over Sporting
Ahead of this clash, Friday’s edition of To Ball have published a detailed interview with the former Gunners official.
Luís Boa Morte expects a good battle between the two sides but will support Arsenal next Tuesday.
“Given how Sporting is playing, they will be a worthy opponent for Arsenal,” he said.
“Arsenal is a team with high morale, although they were wounded at the weekend when we lost the English League Cup final. And I say ‘we lost’ because, although I played for Fulham, I’m an Arsenal supporter. I spent many years away, but I support the club and, without a doubt, we will see high-quality matches.”
The clash will see Viktor Gyökeres return to his old club for the first time since leaving the Lions for Arsenal last summer.
Transfer recommendations for Arsenal
Towards the end, the newspaper asked how he transitioned from a player to a coach. This is when he talked about recommending Arsenal to sign Pedro Neto, Rúben Dias, Ederson and Gedson Fernandes.
“I stopped playing without really realising I was going to stop playing. When I returned to England, I started taking courses and coaching the Fulham U14s,” he added.
“One of the players I coached was Eze from Arsenal; he was very small and shy. Years later, in a game against Crystal Palace, he came up to me at halftime and asked if I remembered him.
“I started coaching the kids and one day my former goalkeeper, Mark Crossley, invited me to play for Chesterfield in League Two. We made a deal.
“I trained with the kids at Fulham on Mondays and Tuesdays, travelled to Chesterfield on Wednesday nights, trained Thursday and Friday, and played on Saturdays. On Sundays I was with my under-14s. I was super busy. We won a tournament in Germany against Bayern and I got hooked. Then I decided to come to Portugal and took a course.
“Augusto Inácio was at Sporting and invited me to coach the under-19s. We came in second place. I coached Matheus Pereira, Rafael Barbosa, Ivanildo, and Bruno Wilson, for example.”
“Then I returned to Arsenal as a scout for the Portuguese market. I recommended players like Pedro Neto, Ederson, Rúben Dias, and Gedson Fernandes.”
Arsenal’s mistake to not take it seriously
Neto and Dias are currently at Chelsea and Manchester City respectively. Ederson left the Etihad for Fenerbahçe last summer, after a successful spell. Fernandes left Beşiktaş for Spartak Moscow in July 2025.
These four players have established themselves and are stars at their respective clubs. Perhaps Arsenal should have taken Luís Boa Morte’s recommendations more seriously.
🇧🇷 Luiz Henrique | Can’t stop Arsenal flirting
➡️ Wants to play for father-figure Mikel Arteta
🙏 “God willing, I have that opportunity”
💬 Has been speaking to the 2 Gabriels
↔️ Impressed with how Gunners use width
✍️ Latest come-and-get-me plea 👇 #afc— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) April 1, 2026
