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Arsenal are Premier League champions but throughout the 2026 summer transfer window, they did not act like it.
Speaking after the Champions League final in May, Mikel Arteta issued a rallying cry for ambition to be shown in the forthcoming months. The players they targeted were ambitious but the way in which they ended up conducting their business was not.
To their credit, they did push hard for Vinicius Junior, only to end up on the wrong side of that saga. They also ended up on the wrong side of the Julian Alvarez saga. Considering the Argentine always wanted Barcelona and was not going to budge from that stance, the Gunners wasted a lot of time on that one.
REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Then there was Morgan Rogers. Arsenal were in pole position to sign the England man, the player was keen to come but the English champions dilly-dallied over a deal. He ended up at Chelsea with Andrea Berta and Co unwilling to match their £117m bid.
At the time, it was fine. They had other irons in the fire and surely wouldn't allow Christos Tzolis to be their only addition to the forward line? Think again. They turned their noses up at the likes of Bradley Barcola too.
Why Arsenal ignored Bradley Barcola
He was right there. Barcola was the market opportunity of the window. He wanted to leave PSG and English clubs seemingly had a free run at securing his signature.
In the end, it was Liverpool who had all of the freedom in the world to sign him, welcoming the exciting forward to Anfield in the final few days of the transfer window to the tune of a whopping £123m.
most expensive premier league signings ever (timeless - isak, barcola, enzo fernandez, rice, tonali, caicedo, wirtz)
After Alexander Isak and Enzo Fernandez, he is the second-most expensive player in Premier League history. For starters, that explains why Arsenal did not make a move.
If they were unwilling to pay up for Rogers, a proven player in England, they were never going to pay even more for Barcola. The asking price seemed inhibitive.
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But, you need to pay a premium for elite forward players. That's what the market dictated. Sure, they signed Tzolis for £34m but that sticks out as a rare piece of value in the chaos that ensued this summer.
Perhaps there were also reservations about his quality? In 2024/25, Barcola showcased that he is one of the best wingers in world football, scoring 21 goals and assisting 21 as PSG won the Champions League.
2025/26, however, was a quiter affair for the Frenchman, scoring 13 and assisting even. Does that really warrant a club-record fee? Arguably not; those numbers are no better than what Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard have produced in recent years.
Still, Arsenal needed a winger and even rejected the chance to bring one in on deadline day.
Arsenal could have signed their own Barcola
Arsenal supporters headed into transfer deadline day with slim hope that, at long last, the club may finally get their hands on a new forward.
REUTERS/David Klein
A deal for the aforementioned Alvarez was still being dicussed but kept being met with refusal from the player. You sense he may finally get that dream Barca move over the winter.
One player who did secure a move on the final day of the window, right at the last moment, was Malick Fofana.
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Leaving Lyon behind, the 21-year-old signed for Sunderland in a deal worth £30m. It was one of the sagas of deadline day. Crystal Palace tried to hijack the deal and he actually ended up undergoing a medical for both teams in France. In the end, he headed for Wearside.
But, there was a chance he could have headed to Arsenal instead. It was revealed by several sources, including Fabrizio Romano, on Monday evening that the Gunners were in talks over a move for the Belgian and he was keen to seal a switch.
Football.London even revealed on Tuesday that personal terms had been agreed between player and club. Alas, there were reservations from key officials at the Emirates and a deal went no further.
REUTERS/Alexandre Dimou
Rightfully, after missing out on their primary targets, Arsenal did not panic. However, they really needed an extra body in that area of the pitch.
The north Londoners came into the summer light in attack and have somehow actually weakened their forward line. Trossard, Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all departed on permanent deals with Ethan Nwaneri headed to Borussia Dortmund on loan. The only arrival to offset that was Tzolis.
As a result, Fofana would have been useful depth. Sure, he only scored two goals during an injury-hit campaign for Lyon last term but there is simply so much potential to extract from the young winger.
In the words of European football expert Robin Bairner, he is something of a "bargain version of Bradley Barcola". He's quick, direct and he commits opponents.
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Fofana vs Barcola: 2024/25 league stats
Stats (per 90 mins)
Non-penalty goals
Shots
Open play expected assists
Shot-ending carries
Successful dribbles
Progressive carries
Carries to final 3rd
We most notably saw those comparisons in 2024/25 when Fofana was one of the best young wingers in Europe. Compared to Barcola, he ranked highly for key metrics such as dribbles per 90 minutes and progressive carries.
His general output was also a lot more convincing that term too, netting 11 goals and assisting six in 41 appearances.
Clearly Liverpool's new wide man is streets ahead of Fofana, but for a fraction of the price, Berta may well have been able to provide Arteta with someone whose base attributes are really rather similar.
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