Arsenal have won the race to sign exciting English star

The World Cup may well be in full swing now but it does not mean the transfer market is slowing down. For Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Co, they will no doubt be trying to convince England colleague Morgan Rogers to join Arsenal.

For the Gunners, it is widely thought that Rogers is their leading target this summer and it would appear as though Saka and Rice’s efforts have been fruitful.

Reports indicate that the Aston Villa man has already agreed to join Arsenal, with personal terms thought to be no issue. What’s left is now the tricky bit; convincing Villa to sell for a reasonable price.

That said, the 23-year-old is not the only wide player on their radar this summer.

Arsenal close in on signing new winger

While last summer was very much all about signing a new centre-forward, this time around it’s about raising the level of the team on the flanks.

On the right, Saka and Noni Madueke are fine options but they desperately need an improvement on the left flank where Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli endured inconsistent campaigns.

As a result, it is no surprise to see Rogers, a former PFA Young Player of the Year winner appear on the club’s shortlist.

It’s a list that includes PSG’s Bradley Barcola and Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis but the most work, so it would seem, has been done on Rogers.

While immediate first-team recruits are of utmost importance, improving depth and recruiting for the future is also a wise idea. Arsenal are making big progress on that front, having reportedly already agreed a deal to sign Georgian wonderkid Andria Bartishvili.

Speaking of young players, a deal is moving edging ever closer for Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga.

That’s according to TEAMtalk who reveal that Arsenal have ‘won the race’ to sign the talented forward from Leicester, with the player having chosen the Gunners despite interest from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Monga has allegedly made it clear that Arsenal are his preferred destination, which has allowed Andrea Berta and Co to move into a position where they can potentially agree a fee with the Foxes.

Aged just 16, the teenager is about to pen professional terms at the King Power Stadium and will be prised away from the Midlands for a compensation package of between £10m and £15m.

Why Monga could be Arsenal’s future Bukayo Saka

In September 2019, Unai Emery gave Bukayo Saka his Arsenal debut aged 17 in the Europa League. Since then, the talented winger has not looked back.

Supporters do not have much to thank Emery for but they must celebrate the way he picked out his talent and handed him an opportunity from a young age.

Mikel Arteta will perhaps thank him the most. It was Saka’s inspired performances during the early days of the Spaniard’s tenure that arguably kept him in the job and ever since, their working relationship has continued to thrive.

During the Arteta era, no player has played more games, no player has scored more goals and no player has registered more assists for Arteta than Saka.

He may well have struggled with injury over the last year but he has always been the go-to man. He dazzles with his close touch control, he’s brilliantly two-footed and he’s not just a goalscorer but he’s also incredibly creative.

In Monga, they could sign a mini version of Saka. Like Arsenal’s posterboy, he was spotted at such a young age and thrown into the limelight.

In fact, the Leicester wonderkid was even younger when he appeared for the Foxes. Monga first appeared for the club at the age of 15 and is now the third-youngest player in Premier League history behind Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman.

While the winger may not have kicked on in a similar way to the Arsenal pair quite yet, he has still been making an almighty impact at such a young age. Sure, a goal and two assists may not look like much in the Championship last season but the fact he’s even good enough to be playing regularly at his age is something in itself.

Described as “England’s Ousmane Dembele” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, Monga also has a bit of Jeremy Doku to him. The way he shimmies past opponents and bursts past defenders is eerily similar to Manchester City’s wing wizard.

But, he’s also like Saka, as Leicester Mercury writer Josh Holland outlines. “Monga plays football at a professional standard, like he is playing in the street,” he explained to Football.London.

“He is a remarkable ball-carrier who is obsessed with beating his man and driving forward. His best position has been off the left, with him taking high/wide positions to collect the ball by the touch line and then drive inwards. He’s strong on both feet and has incredible agility.”

Unlike Saka, he does not play on the right but he’s essentially a mini version, just on the left flank.

Diminutive in stature but mighty in potential, the way he can drive off that flank, as Holland eludes to, is very similar to Saka. He often hugs the right touchline and then tricks his way past the full-back.

Saka has lost a bit of his explosiveness since sustaining an Achilles injury but when he was a teenager, he was just like Monga, ready and raring to dart past his man.