Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has not been at his best in 2025/26, far from it.
Since Mikel Arteta became the manager of the Gunners, he has been able to call upon the winger as his main man. Season after season, the Englishman has delivered.
Yet, this term, he has not only struggled with injury but also struggled with form. The 24-year-old has only scored twice in his last 24 matches across all competitions, providing a worry that long-term, Saka might not be the player he once was.
Saka-Trossard-Arsenal
It's come at precisely the wrong moment, with Arsenal's wingers finding life difficult throughout much of the season.
Leandro Trossard is without a goal in his last 20 games. Gabriel Martinelli has only found the net once in the Premier League. Noni Madueke has not registered a goal involvement across his last nine appearances.
Arsenal's wingers in 2025/26
Player
Gabriel Martinelli
Bukayo Saka
Leandro Trossard
Noni Madueke
Max Dowman
So, change is required this summer.
Arsenal looking to sign £43m winger
Last summer, it was all about finding a new striker for Arsenal. This summer, it will be about strengthening out wide.
A plethora of options have already been mooted with Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon reportedly on their radar and keen on joining Arteta's project.
Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon applauds fans after the match
Elsewhere, PSG superstar Kvicha Kvaratskhelia has been linked, although that one seems unlikely. As does a move for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, with interest in the Englishman emerging from Arsenal.
Whatever happens this summer, it is essential that Andrea Berta finds the right man to bolster the flanks. He certainly did not do that nearly a year ago when he signed Madueke from Chelsea for £52m.
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The Gunners have spent generously in recent years.
While the Gunners will hope to avoid a similar mistake there, they could also look at future-proofing the attack further. They already have young Max Dowman breaking through but they are not satisfied with just that.
Arsenal's Max Dowman
According to Brazilian publication UOL, Arsenal are one of a number of teams to have cast their eyes in the direction of Palmeiras' Eduardo Conceicao.
The winger is just 16 years of age but is incredibly highly rated in his homeland. This is a club who have produced Endrick and Estevao in recent years, so he comes from strong stock.
Conceicao has caught the attention of Manchester United who are planning a bid, while Arsenal, PSG, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona and Manchester City have all held talks with the player's representatives to register their interest.
The teenager has an £87m release clause but is expected to leave Palmeiras for around £43m.
What Eduardo Conceicao could offer Arsenal
With Arsenal needing to significantly strengthen their stable of wide forwards, signing such a raw young talent may not excite supporters very much.
That's understandable. Someone like Kvaratskhelia should undoubtedly be a priority.
kvaratskhelia-psg
Yet, in Conceicao, Arsenal could add another of the game's most interesting young players. In Dowman, the Gunners already have one generational talent and they have recently moved to secure two more in the shape of Edwin and Holger Quintero, the Ecuadorian teenage twins who are set to officially join in the summer of 2027.
Well, if those who are in the know are to be believed, the Palmeiras youngster could be right up there with that trio.
Described as "the hottest prospect in world football" by the Daily Mail, he's cut from a similar cloth as the club's star boy, Saka.
Fleet-footed, twinkle-toed, Conceicao already looks like one of the best dribblers in the game. To really ram home that comparison, the Mail's George Bond had suggested that he not just "plays like Raphinha" at Barcelona but also like Ousmane Dembele.
raphinha-barcelona
That will no doubt pique the interest of supporters who remember Arsenal's pursuit of Raphinha a few years ago. Due to his similarities to Saka - a hard-working yet creative left-footed right winger - the Gunners were actively looking to prise him away from Leeds in the summer of 2022, even lodging a formal bid.
Yet, as we all know, he ended up at Barcelona where he is now in contention to win the Ballon d'Or award.
While Conceicao may not be a future Ballon d'Or winner, he looks like a remarkable talent, even if he has yet to play a single game of senior football. Still, he knows where the net is, bagging five goals in 13 matches at youth level this season.
Outlining his best qualities to the Mail, Lucas Andrade, who coached Conceicao with Palmeiras U20s said: "Eduardo has the profile of a ball-carrying attacking midfielder. He can also play as a left-sided winger, but his best performances come through the central corridor, as a No 10."
While that is not identical to Saka, you would certainly suggest that he has precisely the right profile to play in attacking midfield too, just as he did when he scored against Wolves at Molineux.
Bukayo-Saka-Arsenal
Andrade continued: "Conceicao has strong dribbling characteristics — similar, in today’s game, to Raphinha, and internationally to Ousmane Dembele — players who can break lines both with dribbling and vertical passes. I believe he has the characteristics for the Premier League because he is a very physical player."
While it would be foolish to expect the world of a 16-year-old should he move to a big club this summer, it's hard not to get excited about someone with a very similar profile to both Saka and Raphinha.
He's brilliant at beating a man and he's got the end product to boot, too. This would be quite the coup if Arsenal could get their hands on him.
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