The Premier League fixtures have been announced giving Arsenal a new reason to accelerate a move for Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers
Arsenal hold significant interest in Aston Villa and England midfielder Morgan Rogers, football.london understands. Mikel Arteta highly admires the player, and the 23-year-old could become the marquee addition to the title winners this summer.
The Gunners have, however, been handed an additional incentive to complete any transfer for Rogers even earlier. Beyond the normal benefits of an early transfer, such as pre-season and acclimatisation before the new season, a recent announcement has further strengthened the motivation to complete the move.
The Premier League have announced their fixtures for the 2026/27 season, with Arsenal kicking off the campaign at the Emirates Stadium against newly promoted Coventry City. They will end the campaign in North London too, in something of a boost to the hopes of fans hoping to witness a Premier League trophy lift inside the ground for the very first time.
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However, it is matchday two of the season which is significant to the transfer saga involving Rogers. Arsenal will travel to Villa Park on the weekend of August 29 to face Unai Emery’s side.
Villa beat Arsenal in last season’s meeting, with Emi Buendia scoring with what was effectively the last kick of the game. At the time, it was a serious blow to the Gunners’ title hopes and propelled Villa into the title conversation.
Rogers didn’t score or assist in the game, nor has he ever recorded a goal contribution against Arsenal. For that record to be guaranteed, at least for the near future, any transfer would need to be completed before the match.
Eberechi Eze, for example, played the first game of the Premier League season for Crystal Palace away at Chelsea before making the £63.5million switch to North London. The move, in that case, was prompted in part by Kai Havertz’s injury.
In the case of Rogers, the desire to complete a deal exists early on, and now the extra motivation to take away one of Arsenal’s early opponents’ best weapons is obvious. Any deal, however, is expected to cost a huge sum, with Villa hoping to get close to £100million for any sale.
