Vinicius Junior's decision to extend his contract with Real Madrid has closed Arsenal's hopes for a blockbuster deal this summer. Previously, the Emirates Stadium team also failed in the race to win Morgan Rogers when the English midfielder joined Chelsea for £117 million. The top two targets successively slipped out of reach, forcing Sporting Director Andrea Berta to recalculate the plan to upgrade the attack.
In a familiar way, Berta always prepares many options for each position instead of just pursuing one name. Although Vinicius is identified as an important target, Arsenal understand from the beginning that this is a very difficult deal to complete. When the Brazilian player decided to stick with Real Madrid, the London team quickly switched to other options.
Arsenal's priority is still to add a world-class left winger. After parting ways with Leandro Trossard, coach Mikel Arteta wants to have a factor capable of creating breakthroughs and raising the level of the attack. Newcomer Christos Tzolis is highly appreciated after his impressive debut, but Arsenal inside still believes that the team needs another real star to compete in all competitions.
Bradley Barcola is the most prominent name on the replacement list. The PSG winger is closely watched by Arsenal, but the price of up to 145 million pounds makes the deal very complicated. Liverpool is also pursuing the French international, while the "Gunners" affirm that they will not break the spending principle for just one player, regardless of whether it is a priority target.
Another option that was considered was Yan Diomande, but the young talent from Ivory Coast joined Real Madrid for a fee of about 120 million pounds.
If they cannot find a suitable target, Arsenal can completely maintain their current force. Marcus Rashford or Rafael Leao are considered feasible options in the market, but both contain risks in terms of form, finance or adaptability. With Arteta, quality is always put above quantity.
Besides, The Gunners still place their trust in Christos Tzolis. The Spanish coach highly appreciates this player. He hopes Tzolis can recreate the explosive form that helped him contribute to 51 goals and assists in Club Brugge's colors last season. However, moving from the Belgian national championship to the Premier League is still a big test.
Gabriel Martinelli's future is also a question mark. The Brazilian striker only has one year left on his contract and has not been pushed by Arsenal to extend it. However, he still possesses combat experience and has contributed to the Premier League championship journey, something that not many targets on the market currently have.
In addition to the winger position, Arsenal is also considering strengthening the center forward. Julian Alvarez is still on the target list, but the Argentine international prioritizes joining Barcelona if he leaves Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile, Eli Junior Kroupi is identified by Bournemouth as not for sale and still has to be sidelined for a long time due to injury.
The Emirates Stadium team can also allocate budget to other positions, especially center-backs in the context of William Saliba's long-term injury. Ezri Konsa is one of the targets Arsenal are monitoring, with a price of about 60 million pounds.
