Arsenal ready to make move to sign £129m star

After winning the Premier League title Arsenal are ready to make an enormous splash in the transfer window.

Josh Kroenke has assured supporters that plans are already underway to strengthen while Mikel Arteta has called for ambition to be shown as they aim to win the league back to back and take home a first ever Champions League crown.

To do so, there appears to be a realisation that the Gunners need to improve in the final third.

Bukayo Saka endured his most difficult senior season yet while Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli did not offer much assistance from wide areas either. Martinelli scored once in the league while Trossard endured a barren period of 25 games before he finally scored again against West Ham a few weeks ago.

So, big money is in reserve to cast them aside and sign upgrades. Morgan Rogers appears to be the number one target right now but extracting him from Aston Villa will be tricky.

Rogers one of three big-money forwards Arsenal want to sign

Last week Rogers headed with the England squad to Florida for their pre-World Cup training camp. He then played the first 45 minutes of the Three Lions’ 1-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday.

Yet, come the end of the World Cup, will his time at Aston Villa have come to an end? Thomas Tuchel has already said that he will not stand in the way of players negotiating their future during the tournament which is good news for Arsenal in this case.

Reports over the last week suggested the Gunners have already held talks with the player’s camp, although if they are to convince Villa to sell it could take anywhere between £80m-£100m.

Rogers is not the only Premier League player on the club’s radar. Eli Junior Kroupi is a key target to bolster the striker positions but likewise he is set to fetch a fee in a similar region to the Villa man. Bournemouth do not want to sell the French attacker either.

If those are the price tags involved then they should do all they can to sign Julian Alvarez instead. Previous reports in the build-up to the summer market have indicated that Arsenal are very much interested in the Argentine but there are a few obstacles in the shape of other interested parties, PSG and Barcelona.

According to reports in Spain this weekend, via GOAL, Alvarez’s preferred destination this summer is Barca but with Atletico Madrid’s enormous asking price of £129m in mind, that is proving to be prohibitive for the Catalan giants.

As a result, it’s noted that Arsenal are actually the ‘only’ club currently willing to make a concrete bid to sign Alvarez.

Why Alvarez would be a better signing than Rogers and Kroupi

In Rogers and Kroupi, Arsenal have identified two of the best young players in the Premier League.

Their interest should come as no surprise, particuarly given that Arteta loves signing proven players from England’s top-flight. However, signing both this summer would be a shock considering the fees mentioned.

In Rogers, the north Londoners could sign a player capable of fixing two problems, not least their issues on the left flank where Rogers can operate but he could also address a lack of magic from those who have played in the number 10 positions.

The England international is a former PFA Young Player of the Year winner and has scored 14 goals in consecutive seasons now. He’s a powerful runner, he’s phenomenal technically and looks ready for a major move now. However, it could be argued that Arsenal already have a very similar profile of player in Eberechi Eze.

As they look to strengthen that left-hand side a more out and out winger may well be preferred.

Kroupi would also be a wonderful acquisition. He’s one of the best young players on the planet. No teenager has ever scored more goals (13) in their debut Premier League season than he has.

Aged just 19, the Cherries striker has the world at his feet but he’s still incredibly raw and there is always the fear that someone could be a one hit wonder.

Alvarez, however, is no one hit wonder, he’s a proven talent and the full package. He can score goals, he can assist goals and he’s been doing it at an extremely high level for a while now. This would be an ideal upgrade on the likes of Havertz and Gyokeres.

It was not long ago that Joe Cole said that the Argentine was a “Ballon d’Or winner of the future”. That was during an electric 2024/25 season for the 26-year-old who scored 29 times and assisted seven.

That was Alvarez’s first year in Madrid after leaving Manchester City behind. At the Etihad he played second fiddle to Erling Haaland but still found the net on 19 occasions, assisting 13 in his penultimate campaign.

This is a special talent, someone who like Kroupi is capable of playing as a striker or just behind the main number 9. However, Alvarez has been doing it for years now.

In the future, Bournemouth’s French superstar could be recognised as an elite talent, potentially one of the best in the game. Yet, in Atleti’s star man, they would be signing a finished product. There are not many better centre-forwards in Europe right now.

Arsenal are always planning for the future but it really does feel as though they are in win now mode. Alvarez would certainly help continue that.