football.london

Morgan Rogers joins 11 failed Arsenal transfers as Mikel Arteta promise backfires

Football London Icon

Arsenal

Arsenal Transfer News

Morgan Rogers## Morgan Rogers becomes yet another Arsenal transfer target that will be going elsewhere this summer

10:30, 19 Jul 2026

With Morgan Rogers’ failed move to Arsenal, it’s not about the amount of money he would have cost the club, nor whether he was the right fit. Rogers was yet another player Mikel Arteta wanted and is not going to be delivered.

The list lengthens every single summer transfer window. Whether it was Raphinha, Lisandro Martinez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Dusan Vlahovic, Alexander Isak, Ilkay Gundogan, Bruno Guimaraes, Douglas Luiz, Benjamin Sesko, Moises Caicedo, or Mason Mount… the list goes on.

The difference in 2026 compared to all the previous summer transfer windows is that Arsenal are Premier League champions. football.london understands that Rogers was a player Arteta wanted, a player that Arsenal had been keen on for some time, but in the end, Chelsea have been quicker and more ambitious than their London rivals.

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

When you read back the words of what Arteta would say following the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, it appears there is a difference between what Arteta hoped for and what has taken place.

“First of all, I will take a few days with my family, and then we will all start the process to review what we've done,” Arteta said when asked what the plans would be in the coming days after the final. “We’ll start to make some very important decisions, we want to reach another level.

“We're going to have to show that ambition because they are more than capable of doing it, but it's going to demand us to be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart.”

Ambitious. Quick. Smart.

Now I will be the first to admit that Rogers is not a £117million player. But, frankly, I am not sure who is worth what anymore with how some clubs are trading players.

Arsenal would have hoped not to pay more than the £105million they spent on Declan Rice in 2023, and they might not have done had Chelsea not come in. But we will never know, and the aggression with which the Blues have attacked this deal is another disappointment.

Attention turns now to Bruno Guimaraes. A player, Mikel Arteta, is also keen on but since informing Newcastle United of his desire to leave and join Arsenal, however, so far the Gunners have yet to make an official offer.

Miss out on another top target for the summer, and suddenly so much of the good feeling created from becoming Premier League champions could be eroded. The pressure is on sporting director Andrea Berta to deliver for his manager.

Article continues below

Tom Canton

Tom Canton

Tom Canton joined football.london as the Arsenal Fan Brand Writer and Presenter before becoming a permanent Arsenal Reporter in 2025. Tom produces plenty of analytical content in addition to breaking stories and is a regular attendee at matches and press conferences. Can also be found on YouTube @TheGoonerTalkTV

Choose Football London as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.

Google Preferred Source Badge

Morgan Rogers

Mikel Arteta

Arsenal transfer news

Arsenal transfer rumours

Summer Transfer Window

Read full news in source page