DONE DEAL: Arsenal completes first summer transfer signing as striker snubs Chelsea and Manchester United to join the Gunners- Medical Completed and announced planned to be made today
The transfer window has been open for a week now, and Arsenal need to kick into gear.
There may be another, longer window in which to confirm deals after the Club World Cup, but Mikel Arteta and Co risk falling further behind their Premier League rivals should they waste any more time.
For example, Manchester City have already received the ‘here we go’ treatment for Rayan Aït-Nouri and worse than that, Liverpool look insistent on signing the incredibly exciting Florian Wirtz as soon as possible.
However, the good news is that recent reports have linked Arsenal with another sensationally creative talent who could be their answer to the German international.
Arsenal transfer news
Before getting to the star in question, it’s worth going over some of the other brilliantly talented players who have been linked with Arsenal in recent weeks and months, like Morgan Gibbs-White and Xavi Simons.
The former could cost the Gunners a whopping £100m, although, given his undeniable importance to Nottingham Forest, the fact he’s Premier League proven and his tally of seven goals and ten assists in 34 PL games, that fee is hardly surprising.
On the other hand, Simons would cost substantially less at £65m and has arguably had an even better campaign for RB Leipzig this year, scoring 11 goals and providing eight assists in 33 appearances in all competitions.
Yet, there is another target who has now entered the picture, someone who’d be a better signing than both players above: Morgan Rogers.
Yes, according to a recent report from Charlie Gordon of the Express, Arsenal are now very interested in signing the Aston Villa star.
In fact, the report goes a step further, revealing that the North Londoners have already made contact over the English talent, although the Midlands club could demand a fee ‘well in excess of £70m.’
It could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Rogers’ incredible ability and boundless potential, it’s one worth fighting for, especially as he’d be the perfect answer to Wirtz.
Why Rogers could be Arsenal’s Wirtz
So, while it’s certainly a bold claim to suggest that Rogers could be Arsenal’s own Wirtz this summer and beyond, there are a few reasons why we feel more than comfortable making it.
The first is that even though the German did have marginally better output this season, both players produced very similar numbers in this regard, and the Villa ace in a league UEFA ranks as the toughest in Europe – with the Bundesliga coming as the fourth hardest.
For example, the Bayer Leverkusen star scored 16 goals and provided 15 assists in 45 appearances, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.45 games.
In comparison, the Villans’ creative “machine,” as dubbed by The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, managed to score 14 goals and provide 15 assists in 54 appearances, which comes out to a still impressive but ever-so slightly worse average of a goal involvement every 1.86 games.
On top of their output, the pair are both 22 years old and while they can play in a number of positions – the “unstoppable” Claret and Blue gem, as dubbed by Jamie Carragher, being particularly adept at playing out wide – they are undoubtedly at their best as the most attacking midfielder in the team.
Finally, if these deals do go through, then both internationals would be moving to two of the favourites for the title next season and would almost certainly be doing so with the intention of revolutionising their respective sides’ creativity and attacking style.
Ultimately, while he’s not as big a name and has a lower price tag, Rogers looks like he could be Arsenal’s own Wirtz this summer and beyond, so Arteta and Co should do everything they can to bring him to the club as soon as possible.
