Morgan Rogers
Morgan Rogers' future is up in the air(Image: Lewis Storey, Getty Images)
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Dwight Yorke has questioned whether Morgan Rogers would fit in at Arsenal amid the Premier League champions' interest in the Aston Villa star.
Arsenal are expected to step up their interest in Rogers and submit an offer to Villa, although Unai Emery is unlikely to sanction a sale unless a huge bid is made.
Club owner Nassef Sawiris is reportedly holding out for a record-breaking fee and values Rogers at more than the £116 million Manchester City paid for Elliot Anderson earlier this summer.
Former Villa striker Yorke, meanwhile, does not believe Rogers would be an automatic starter under Mikel Arteta if he joined Arsenal for such a significant fee.
“I think that if you’re looking to join a club you have to ask the question of where you fit in, because Morgan Rogers is not getting into this Arsenal team as a regular starter,” Yorke told
“Martin Odegaard is there and he’s the captain. Eberechi Eze isn’t a regular. It’s a fabulous squad but where is Rogers supposed to play?
“When I left Aston Villa to go to Manchester United, the first question I asked Sir Alex Ferguson was how do you see me, and where do you see me in the team?
“He said he saw me as the number nine, and of course he didn’t make any guarantees, but he told me you are my nine. In other words, he handed me the shirt first. It was up to me whether I wanted to take it.
“I moved to United for a record fee at the time but for what? I wasn’t going to sit on the bench. When you go into this Arsenal side which already has Eze, Odegaard and Declan Rice, how do you fit into that?
“Rogers has to think very carefully about it because it’s all well and good going to a club like Arsenal to win things but not if you’re going to be left on the bench.
“I think Morgan Rogers would have a better chance if he went to a team like Manchester United who are on the up again. He is more likely to play as a regular starter there for the fee he’d be going for.”
Yorke then floated the idea of swapping Rogers in a deal for Marcus Rashford, who enjoyed a loan spell under Emery in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
“A swap deal to sign Morgan Rogers for Marcus Rashford plus cash? That would not be a bad thing, I don’t think, but it depends how Aston Villa sees it,” Yorke said.
“I think Unai Emery needs to convince him that he can stay and do the unthinkable with Villa, which is to win the Premier League. To do that you need your best players. You can’t go selling them or you’ll go backwards.
“If you just want to remain in the top four, fine. You can sell whoever you want. But if Villa really want to go to the next level, they should keep Rogers and still sign Rashford if he doesn’t want to stay at United. Go and get him. He’d be happy back at Villa, I’m sure, and he could make a huge difference.”
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