Why Arsenal could sign £77m winger instead

Across north London, Arsenal‘s great rivals Tottenham Hotspur has started the transfer window at a rip-roaring pace.

Sandro Tonali is due to arrive in a £100m deal from Newcastle United while Mateus Fernandes has already put pen to paper on a move worth £85m.

It’s not often that Spurs take your breath away but it has sent an almighty message to the rest of the league. They are here to spend.

What will Arsenal’s response to all of that be? Well, they won’t be too bothered. After all, there is a confidence they will be able to retain their Premier League crown no matter how their rivals perform.

To do that, however, they will need to add to their forward line. This is where PSG’s Bradley Barcola comes into the equation.

Barcola one of several targets for Arsenal

If Arsenal had any hope of agreeing a cut-price deal this summer they can think again. It’s safe to say that the market has been blown wide open not just by Tonali’s move to Spurs but by Elliot Anderson’s £116m transfer to Manchester City.

It has led to Aston Villa asking for £130m for Morgan Rogers, the player who would appaer to be the Gunners’ leading target to strengthen their attack.

A deal at that price will not happen. A bit of negotiating will be needed. The same can be said for Bradley Barcola. The Frenchman has emerged as the number one alternative to Rogers but will not come cheap either.

If PSG sell, they may not do so until a suitor meets their £116m asking price.

The problem is, that with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard struggling for form in 2025/26, they need a winger and they argualy need one at all costs.

Well, how about a certain Vinicius Junior? Reports in Spain this week suggest that with Vini at a contract impasse at Real Madrid, so far unwilling to pen fresh terms, his entourage are assessing the Brazilian’s options.

Five teams have the power to sign him with it noted that all of Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayern Munich are interested.

Considering his contract runs out in the summer of 2027, Madrid would have to accept a lower fee now rather than losing him on a free in a year. It’s thought a sale could be negotiated at a fee as low as £77m.

How Vini Junior compares to Bradley Barcola

It’s safe to say this has been the World Cup of the elite superstar. You name them, they have come to life in North America this summer. Barcola is included in that.

While the winger did not start France’s opening game of the World Cup, nor their final group clash with Norway, he has three goal involvements in four outings.

Scoring brilliantly against both Senegal and Sweden, while registering an assist against Erling Haaland’s side, the 23-year-old has surely made himself undroppable to Didier Deschamps.

To be starting in that France team, you have to be a world-class talent and that’s precisely what Barcola is. He has shown as much for PSG over recent seasons. In 2024/25, he scored 21 goals and assisted 21, before bagging 13 and assisting seven in 2025/26. He’s a huge threat but he’s not Vinicius Junior.

We mentioned this World Cup has been one for the superstars and Vini is no exception to that. He has been one of the stars of this tournament, well and truly living up to Thierry Henry’s billing of being “the best left winger in the world” by netting four times.

At one period of time, he was even “the best player in the world” in the eyes of Real president Florentino Perez, only narrowly missing out on the Ballon d’Or to Rodri.

In comparison to Barcola, he’s certainly the more proven asset and his numbers over time for Madrid have been simply astonishing, scoring 20 times in each of the last five seasons.

At the age of 25, he is approaching his prime but truthfully, it feels like he has been in his prime for years. He is one of the most dangerous players in world football, a more prolific goalscorer and creator than Barcola.

He’s also a better carrier and dribbler of the football. Vini Jr dazzles defenders with 2.77 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, while also registering a whopping 11.60 progressive actions per 90, 8.25 of those are quantified as progressive carries.

With regards to the French winger, he is still elite in these categories but he is streets behind Vini, averaging 1.85 successful dribbles, 6.79 progressive actions and 3.70 progressive carries.

Arsenal have long been searching for an elite forward player to take them to the next level and in the form of the great Brazilian, they would no doubt find that.

He is the ceiling raising signing that could finally carry them to Champions League glory.