DONE DEAL: Arsenal completes first summer transfer signing as tricky winger joins on five-years deal

With the season officially over, Arsenal have what might just be their most important summer in years to contend with.

Mikel Arteta might have helped to utterly transform the team since taking the job in 2019, but with a third Premier League runners-up medal on the bounce this year, there is an undeniable feeling that next season has to see the North Londoners lift a significant honour.

While keeping his key players fit will undoubtedly help the Spaniard with this objective, it’s arguably just as, if not more important, for new Sporting Director Andrea Berta and the board to bring in the right, needle-moving signings over the next few weeks and months.

Fortunately, they may be in the process of doing that, as recent reports have linked the club with one of the most exciting wingers on the continent, someone who’d be a massive Gabriel Martinelli upgrade.

Arsenal’s winger search

Before we get to the superstar in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other wide talents who have been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in recent weeks and months, like Nico Williams and Rayan Cherki.

The former has a release clause that stands at around £50m in his Athletic Bilbao contract, and while that’s a lot of money, it would be more than worth it, as, at just 22 years old, he scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 45 games this season.

Cherki, on the other hand, did even better, racking up a staggering 12 goals and 20 assists in just 44 games, which makes his reported price tag of just £30m feel like a bargain.

However, it would appear that the North Londoners are now keen on another incredible talent from Ligue 1, Bradley Barcola.

Yes, according to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are one of several Premier League teams incredibly interested in the Paris Saint-Germain star.

The report has revealed that alongside the Gunners, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have sent scouts to watch the Frenchman.

Moreover, while the story claims that the Parisians have no intention of selling the 22-year-old, sources close to the club say he’s valued at up to €120m, around £101m.

It would be an incredibly costly and complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Barcola’s outrageous ability and potential, Arsenal should go all out to get him, especially as he’d be a mega Martinelli upgrade.

How Barcola compares to Martinelli
The first thing to say is that while Barcola has played off the right before and made a not-insignificant number of appearances up top as well, his most played position, and by quite some way at that, is left-wing.

Therefore, he’d undoubtedly play there for Arsenal, and therefore, his most significant competition for game time would be Martinelli, but how do the pair stack up against one another?

Well, when it comes to their raw output, it’s hardly a competition at all.

For example, the incredible Frenchman, who’s blessed with “devastating pace,” per U23 scout Antonio Mango, has scored 21 goals and provided 19 assists in 58 appearances, totalling 3643 minutes this season, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.45 games, or every 91.07 minutes.

In contrast, the Gunners’ number 11 has scored ten goals and provided six assists in 51 appearances, totalling 3564 minutes, which comes out to a far less impressive average of a goal involvement every 3.18 games, or every 222.75 minutes.

What about their underlying numbers, then? Who comes out on top when we take a look under the hood?

Well, considering Barcola has been described as “one of the best left wingers in Europe” by analyst Ben Mattinson, it’s just as one-sided a comparison with the PSG phenom doing better in practically every metric.

Ultimately, while Martinelli remains a useful player and could be an important part of the squad next season, Barcola is evidently the far superior winger in every conceivable way.

Therefore, even if it costs a king’s ransom, Arsenal should be doing all they can to sign the incredible Frenchman this summer.