£100m star has agreed to sign for Arsenal

A year ago, Andrea Berta fought hard to strengthen the Arsenal attack. While a new centre-forward was always on the agenda, it was unlikely Eberechi Eze featured too highly in early meetings about recruitment.

Viktor Gyokeres was signed nice and early but Eze arrived once the campaign had already got underway. He looked well set to join Spurs until a last minute phone call saw him head to the Emirates Stadium instead.

He was joined by Noni Madueke in the final third as for once, Mikel Arteta looked to secure strength in numbers at the top end of the pitch.

With Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz missing large periods of 2024/25, this was key as they looked to reach the next level.

A year on, it’s not about depth anymore, it’s about adding ceiling raisers.

£100m star agrees to sign for Arsenal this summer

Arsenal are done with bolstering the defence, now it’s about adding to their attack, something that could finally help them win their first-ever Champions League crown.

The Gunners will hope to win the Premier League again but it is a European gong that continues to elude them. Perhaps the likes of Julian Alvarez and Bradley Barcola could help in that regard?

Alvarez is currently the club’s ‘dream’ target this summer while a bid is reportedly in the works for PSG star Barcola. That said, even with the cheaper Christos Tzolis of Club Brugge on the cards, it is unlikely the Gunners sign two mega-money new forwards.

With that in mind regard, should Arsenal move for Barcola, it would likely rule them out of the race for Morgan Rogers and vice versa.

That being said, Rogers is certainly the number one target heading into this summer. The Londoners have already carried out plenty of work on the player side and it’s thought club-to-club discussions could soon be formally underway.

The latest on their pursuit comes from trusted club insider, Hand of Arsenal. Taking to social media, they reported that Arsenal will ‘officially open talks’ with Villa to sign Rogers in the forthcoming weeks.

There is a real willingness from the Gunners to get a deal done at a reasonable price. Reasonable would not be the £100m that has been quoted in recent weeks. HOA concludes their report by noting that ‘personal terms are no issue’ on this deal.

That is corroborated by Chelsea insider Alex Goldberg. He has previously reported on the Blues’ interest in the player and reveals that amid Chelsea’s pursuit of the Villa man, the player has ‘agreed to join Arsenal’ already and will not be heading to Stamford Bridge.

Why Rogers could be game-changing for the Arsenal attack

It’s abundantly clear that Arsenal need to improve their forward line this summer.

While they did not get blown away by PSG in the Champions League final, all of the narrative heading into that game was about the difference in quality at the top end of the pitch.

Luis Enrique had four of the best attackers in the world at his disposal in Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Barcola. Meanwhile, Arsenal came into that game with a half fit Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.

In reality, their options on the right are fine but on the left, a lot is left to be desired. Trossard has only scored once in 2026 while Martinelli has not been much better. The Brazilian bagged 11 goals in all competitions during 2025/26 but only one of them came in the Premier League.

To add to that, between them, they only registered 18 assists. Trossard picked up 11 and Martinelli registered seven. While criticism of Gyokeres has been deserving, it is hardly a surprise he has struggled at times when you consider the performances of Arsenal’s two left wingers.

Rogers, although more of an attacking midfielder in recent years, could well help improve the fortunes of Gyokeres. It is likely that if the England man arrives this summer he will play on the left side of a three prong attack.

He’s not bad in that role whatsoever. Last season, the 23-year-old played 17 times on the left, scoring five and assisting four. What will be music to the ears of Arteta is that the Villa man does not really mind where he plays.

Speaking in an interview last term, Rogers said that “my favourite position depends on the game.” He continued: “It depends where the space is. I want to play in space. Wherever that is on the pitch, I want to play there.”

That will not just please the coaching staff but it should also please Gyokeres. He needs someone with a bit more aggression and directness on the left flank to benefit him.

Last season, Rogers scored scored 14 and assisted 12. The campaign prior he had another 14 goals to his name but a whopping 16 assists.

He is a player who can carve something out of nothing. He is a match winner, someone capable of taking several players out of the game with a fast-paced and powerful dart through the pitch. He would open up so much more space for Gyokeres. He could be the man that finally gets this Arsenal frontline to click.

With Rogers often operating in central areas, regardless of if he is fielded on the left flank, it would no doubt ensure that the big Swede has more space to operate on the shoulder of the final man and dart into the channels, which is one of his strengths.

While Gyokeres has not always had the best of playing relationships with Saka, it did improve significantly towards the end of the season. They both scored and assisted each other in the 3-0 win over Fulham.

Last summer’s marquee addition, however, has not really received the same help on the left. An elite forward joining in the shape of Rogers, therefore, could be just what he needs to really kick on at the Emirates.