Why Arsenal are pushing hard to sign £128m star after missing out on Rogers

The 2025/26 campaign has been indelibly etched into the mind of the Arsenal persuasion, who will forever remember the year that Mikel Arteta lifted the club back up to the apex of English football.

The Premier League champions came together spectacularly last year, playing as one. In a way, they were greater than the sum of their parts, with Arteta managing to create a world-class team and sustain it without top-of-the-drawer attacking quality.

Injuries didn’t help, but the Spanish tactician’s forwards went missing at times throughout the campaign, and while a striker would be the obvious fix, efforts were also fixed onto completing a deal for Aston Villa attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers until Chelsea came calling to the tune of an almighty £117m.

Why Morgan Rogers could have fixed Arsenal’s attack

It was dejection for Rogers with England at the 2026 World Cup, but he can hold his head following an impressive tournament. It sets him in good stead to refuel ahead of a potential transfer to a bigger club in the Premier League.

The Emirates side had agreed personal terms with the player but were unwilling to go as high as Chelsea did. It’s a pitty considering what he could have offered to the side.

Rogers is a difference-maker and a game-changer, having scored 31 goals and supplied 29 assists across 125 matches for Unai Emery’s outfit. His manager also called him a “leader in the dressing room“, so you get the sense he would have dovetailed into the culture Arteta has set in north London.

At times, it perhaps got a little stale. On the right, Bukayo Saka struggled for full fitness all year, but Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Eberechi Eze all ebbed and flowed on the other side, none of the attackers completing more than 0.9 dribbles per Premier League game on average.

Rogers would have added impetus and energy, with such attributes underpinning a deadly attacking edge that Arsenal lacked at times last season.

He is a superstar, and as Premier League champions, would have been a huge statement of intent. Now, it’s back to the drawing board for Andrea Berta his transfer team.

Arsenal could seal a better signing than Rogers

Let’s not forget: Arsenal have also agreed a £35m deal with Club Brugge to sign Christos Tzolis this summer, and the prolific left winger effectively replaces Trossard.

But with Gabriel Jesus’ future in north London uncertain, Arteta may want a foil to challenge Viktor Gyokeres for that No. 9 berth, and with that in mind, keep a close eye on Julian Alvarez over in Atletico Madrid.

According to reports in Spain, Arsenal are ready to go all out to sign Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez this summer, with technical director Andrea Berta currently making a big push to convince him to join.

Atleti are adamant that they will not be selling the Argentina international this summer for anything beneath their €150m (£128m) valuation, but Arsenal may present a tempting opportunity to sell him to a suitor from overseas, rather than one of Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Described as a “monster” in front of goal by Argentine reporter Pablo Gonzalez, the 26-year-old has been a bona fide success for Atletico, scoring 49 goals and supplying 17 assists across 106 games since joining from Manchester City in an £81m deal. The short end of it is that with his record, he’d be a better signing than Rogers.

There have been doubts over whether Rogers was the man to solve Arsenal’s attacking conundrum. While he did find the net on 14 times last season, he is still consistent. Alvarez is anything but, he is the game-changing addition the Gunners required to take them to the next level.

Rogers can play in multiple different areas of the pitch and likewise, versatility is one of Alvarez’s biggest weapons. That said, there is no question that he has been streamlined into a pure goalscorer under Diego Simeone, retaining his wider range of skills but far less positionally fluid than he was at Man City. That’s where the different to Rogers comes in.

Such a dynamic attacker would be the perfect way to avenge the blow of not signing the Villa man. This is a player with 20 goals last season and 29 the campaign prior. Long have Arsenal craved an attacking like that and they may finally get what they need here.

He’s not just a scorer of goals, he’s also a creator. Alvarez created ten big chances in La Liga last season, and while he only scored eight times across 22 starts, he also missed just eight big chances, speaking of his accuracy in front of goal.

Alvarez has title-winning Premier League experience, and he has gone from strength to strength on an individual level since moving to the Spanish capital. He would be a credit to Arsenal’s front line.