football.london rounds up all the latest information understood about Arsenal's summer transfer window plans
16:21, 20 Jul 2026
Arsenal endured a very mixed week in the transfer window after securing their first major signing of the summer, but then missing out on what was thought to be their number one target. Mikel Arteta welcomes the squad back to the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Monday after holding a short Marbella “pre-pre-season” outing for some of the group.
Players will now start making their way back from the World Cup after the tournament concluded. World Cup winners David Raya, Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi will now start the three-week holiday that every player has been entitled to, while others who were eliminated some weeks ago will have a staggered return, with Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Piero Hincapie among those expected to return first.
football.london understands that Christos Tzolis is hoped to be confirmed this week as an Arsenal player, completing a medical and media duties before the announcement. £34million was the price agreed by both sides last week to see the Greek international, who bagged 51 goal contributions last season, join the club.
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Tzolis has impressed the scouting department at the club and comes in to replace Leandro Trossard. The Belgian joined Turkish side Besiktas for a fee in the region of £17million.
However, it was the saga surrounding Morgan Rogers which has been a real blow to the club. football.london understood the player to be Arsenal’s priority target this summer with talks on a club-to-player level having found common ground on personal terms some time ago.
That said, the club had yet to initiate formal discussions with Aston Villa over the deal, with the West Midlands side believed to want a massive fee for Rogers in excess of the fee paid by Manchester City to sign Elliot Anderson. Chelsea therefore, backed by new manager Xabi Alonso who was convinced of Rogers' importance to his project, aggressively pursued a deal and agreed a £117million move with Villa.
Whether Arsenal would have found common ground with Villa on a fee had Chelsea never entered the race will now never be known. For the second time this summer, following Manchester City’s £12.5million signing of Jeremy Monga, the club have been gazumped for a player they’d set their sights on.
The question is now who do they turn to? football.london understands existing interest in several wingers such as Bradley Barcola, Yan Diomande, Mika Godts and Kerim Alajbegovic.
The first pair are far more expensive and considered major marquee options. However, the latter pair, while significantly less costly, remain very young and perhaps do not raise the needle initially, but could do so in time.
Andrea Berta, the sporting director, as we have reported throughout the summer, wants to have a cost-effective window. There is a reluctance to be drawn into the over-inflated triple-million-pound fees that Man City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been paying this summer.
Where some compromise could be found in that regard is Bruno Guimaraes. Both Arsenal and Newcastle’s ideas about a fee for the Brazilian, who is very open to a move to North London, remain far apart.
However, after missing out on Rogers, there is some pressure building externally and missing out on Guimaraes too would erode some of the huge positivity and momentum built from winning the Premier League title.
In the wake of William Saliba’s injury for France, there is definitely pressure building to sign a defender. Arsenal are understood to be assessing two options.
The first is signing a direct replacement with three names, John Stones, Maxence Lacroix and Ezri Konsa, considered. Stones is a free agent, while Lacroix and Konsa would need to be bought from Crystal Palace and Villa, who would ask for significant fees.
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The second is to sign a versatile full-back who can play on either side, because while need exists on the right in the wake of Saliba’s status, the left-hand side was also hoped to be strengthened. Ben White’s chances of being sold have dropped considerably, and he is working his way back up to fitness, as is Jurrien Timber, with a target of being ready for the start of the Premier League season.
Regarding outgoings, the likes of Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus are not at the top of clubs’ lists, and any exits therefore are likelier to take place in August as clubs go through their lists of alternatives. There is pressure on Berta to secure good deals for exiting players.