Arsenal’s summer transfer strategy is kicking into gear and football.london has the latest on all the ongoing market movements
The transfer window can be the best and worst part of the year when it comes to Arsenal. The hysteria and the downright crazy links to a whole host of players, most of whom were not and will not ever be in with a chance of coming to North London.
Arsenal are one of the most guarded clubs when it comes to their transfer business, and while information gets out, and we get a pretty good picture of what the club is aiming to do, surprises can still take shape, deals can collapse, and left-field moves can arise.
For example, Christos Tzolis’ name was never one in the conversation until seemingly out of nowhere, the links began. In reality, nothing at this stage of a window happens without considerable assessment, analysis, and scouting, in addition to exploratory unofficial discussions to get the lay of the land before anything is formalised.
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Morgan Rogers, however, is certainly at the forefront of the club’s desires this summer. Like in 2025 with Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko, in 2023 with Declan Rice and in 2022 with Gabriel Jesus, there are typically always some players that become known early on as key targets.
The Gunners’ back line is their strongest asset, and while certainly there could be additions there with both Jurrien Timber and Ben White suffering injury issues, and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s move into midfield making a left-sided defender to support Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie a bigger necessity, it is the offensive end of the pitch that Arsenal understandably want to see upgrades.
While Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke, along with the exciting Max Dowman, offer established quality and depth on the right, it is the left flank identified as the key area which can be improved. When Eberechi Eze signed, it was thought he would be able to offer Arteta just that.
But after a handful of opportunities there, it seems the Spaniard is not convinced, and Eze instead sees his future at the club centrally, and understandably so. Rogers, for instance, has drawn similarities to Eze, but there is greater confidence the Villa man can indeed succeed where Eze could not – in Arteta’s eyes at least.
But yet there remains further links to other wide players. A move for Tzolis, for example, throws up all manner of question marks.
The Club Brugge man has produced some excellent numbers, but the question, which was the same for Viktor Gyokeres, is whether they could be transferred to English football. Also like Gyokeres, Tzolis has experience in England with Norwich City, and to say there is surprise at his rise since leaving East Anglia would be nothing short of an understatement, but it happens.
Many players who initially didn’t do well at English clubs left and succeeded on the continent, including such names as Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne. But this would certainly be a deal that leans more toward a backup to a starting left winger, be that Rogers or perhaps Bradley Barcola.
The noises that link to Barcola and Tzolis do not interrupt any interest in Rogers, which naturally point toward the futures of both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli being far from assured. The Brazilian had a great showing for Brazil against Haiti on Friday night, and the hope will be the 25-year-old, were he to leave, would indeed break the nine-year transfer record set by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain when he left for Liverpool for £35million in 2017.
A record that frankly has stood for far too long. Ethan Nwaneri is another whose potential exit would be hoped to break such a benchmark.
football.london understands Borussia Dortmund came incredibly close to signing the teenager in 2025, but a new deal was agreed, but his 2025/26 season has not furthered his career with Arsenal all that much and interest both in England and on the continent remains strong despite the underwhelming spell with Marseille.
Of those who are certainly among the fan discussions of an exit, Kai Havertz would be a real shock to see go; Arteta remains a big fan. However the most high-profile uncertainty remains club captain Martin Odegaard.
football.london understood that no contract talks had yet officially started before the end of the season, and so far, nothing has been learned that would see that stance change. With two years remaining on his deal, when you look to players in comparable positions, the club have tended to make their intentions clear to extend.
Yet a sale would require a big suitor. Bayern Munich are thought to hold an interest, as do Paris Saint-Germain, whether they would both offer a fee to tempt Arsenal into a sale and whether Odegaard himself would be open to leaving when manager Mikel Arteta remains a big fan also complicates matters.
What is clear is that the club are acting on the strategy to invest in youth. While they have already secured moves for the Ecuadorian twins Holger and Edwin Quintero of Independiente del Valle and Victor Ozhianvuna of Shamrock Rovers, joining when they turn 18, there is further keenness to add young talent.
After an initial bid for Jeremy Monga has been rejected by Leicester, the club have not been deterred, and discussions to find an agreement are ongoing. The club have approached PSG’s 18-year-old Emmanuel Mbemba, looking to pounce on the opportunity to steal away one of Europe’s most prized defenders.
As reported elsewhere, the club are believed to have made a pre-contract offer for Georgian 17-year-old Andria Bartishvili. Arsenal have fallen behind the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea when it comes to this element of recruitment, and active efforts are being made to change that.
But the fans will want to see action on the senior side and with the names doing the rounds. And at just 18 years of age, while Ayyoub Bouaddi might indeed be one of the players in a similar bracket to those discussed above, his quality and potential £60million-plus price tag make him firmly a signing with scope for the first team.
A dazzling start to the World Cup has only heightened already piquing interest from the biggest of clubs. But while others are chasing even more expensive options like Elliot Andersen, Adam Wharton, Matheus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, it seems a move for the younger player to replace Christian Norgaard and supplement the excellent talent in the Arsenal midfield makes plenty of sense.
There is optimism come the start of the Premier League season, a squad that has already won a title, will be even stronger for the forthcoming campaign with ambitions to win even more.
