Arsenal are less than a month away from greatness. This has been a long and taxing campaign, but Mikel Arteta's side have shown more durability than in recent years, and now they have Premier League and Champions League titles in their sights.
Win all their remaining fixtures, and the Gunners will complete the double, ending two decades of searching for a league title and a journey for a first slice of European gold.
Viktor Gyokeres has come into his own since Christmas, while Bukayo Saka is showing signs of the world-class quality we have come to know and love, but Arsenal need a show-stopping menace, someone like Alexis Sanchez, bearing Saka's dynamism and skill, but also the deadly finishing of a top striker.
Alexis Sanchez Arsenal record (timeless)
Technical director Andrea Berta might have the perfect target in his sights.
Arsenal in talks to sign Champions League finalist
Arsenal have gone from laughing stock to lauded superpower at the top of the pyramid, and their performances this season have opened up a new world of financial potential, potential which can be applied to reaching another level in the transfer market.
Out on the left flank, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli have both played their parts this season, but Arsenal could do with a higher calibre of wideman.
Finding an Alexis-quality talent isn't exactly an easy thing, though.
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ansu-fati-alexis-sanchez-arsenal-opinion
However, according to Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal may have the perfect signing in their sights in Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola, who is also being coveted by Barcelona and Liverpool.
It is the Gunners who are said to be 'particularly keen' on a move, and while no 'concrete offer' has emerged as yet, talks are said to be in their 'early stages'.
PSG winger Bradley Barcola
Barcola, 23, is one of the most exciting attackers in Europe, but he hasn't nailed down a starting berth at PSG, largely because the mighty Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is ahead of him and pretty comfortably "the best winger in the world right now", as pundit Steven Gerrard has remarked.
Valued at £62m due to contract talks that have not been resolved in the French capital, this is a real opportunity for an elite Arsenal side. If they do not act quickly, a rival such as Liverpool is sure to pounce.
Why Barcola could be Arsenal's new Alexis
Arsenal and Barcola are going to get to know one another a little better at Budapest's Puskas Arena on Saturday, May 30. While Arteta will hope to dispatch the Frenchman,
Hailed for his "exceptional" talent by his manager Luis Enrique, Barcola would be a winger worth investing in, probably performing at a higher level than both Martinelli and Trossard right now.
Bradley Barcola in 2025/26
Stats (* per 90)
Matches (starts)
Goals + Assists
Shots (on target)*
Accurate passes*
Big chances created
Key passes*
Possession lost*
Succ. dribbles*
Ball recoveries*
Tackles + interceptions*
Duels won*
Saying that, he really could become the Gunners' best since Alexis, an almighty partner for Saka on the right. Barcola is a touch more direct than Saka, less effective in influencing deeper phases of play but providing an outlet into the danger area unlike anyone else, so unique in his ball-carrying and ability to find the back of the net.
Barcola hasn't quite nailed down an accuracy in his ball-striking that echoes the prolificness of Arsenal's one-time Chilean superstar, but he is young and improving, already considered to have "huge potential as a killer outlet" by analyst Ben Mattinson.
Whether the Gunners act on their evident interest is yet unknown, but the PSG talent is the real deal. Last year, he scored 21 goals and supplied 21 assists across all competitions (including the summer Club World Cup). This season, he hasn't been quite so prolific, but a new home in London could help him in his burgeoning rise, handed a first-choice role on the left flank.
Alexis hasn't plied his craft at the Emirates for some time, but the memory of his brilliance is still intact, utterly mesmerising under Arsene Wenger way back when.
Barcola isn't a carbon copy of the 37-year-old, but he could rival his legacy at the Emirates after several years under Arteta's wing.
bradley-barcola-psg
Barcola isn't the finished product, but this actually sheds light on his role in Luis Enrique's superteam, making an incredible impact over the past few years without starting each and every match.
Last summer, Liverpool started sniffing around, with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirming that the Reds view the Les Bleus star as a "world-class player".
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Arsenal are now shifting their focus towards signing a midfield star who could partner Declan Rice next season.