Arsenal’s perfect £90m first summer signing couldn't be more obvious amid rival Chelsea interest

Arsenal are hoping to avoid a familiar story this summer of entering a transfer window with high expectations and a big budget, but missing out on their top targets to other big six clubs and pinching a £90 million Premier League star from under the noses of a London rival would be the perfect statement of intent.

Mikel Arteta found himself with exactly that regret after the 2025 January transfer window closed without Arsenal making a single addition to their squad after failing in their high-profile pursuit of Ollie Watkins despite making a “significant bid” for the England star according to the Guardian.

Though most famous of all was the summer of 2013 when the Gunners missing out on Luis Suarez following their infamous £40,000,001 bid and spent so long focusing on the Uruguayan that Serie A goal machine Gonzalo Higuain also slipped through their fingers, forcing Arsene Wenger to settle for Mesut Ozil instead who was never maximised at the Emirates.

Following the more recent disappointment, Arteta made it clear Arsenal were focusing on quality not quantity and wouldn’t spend just for the sake of it, saying: "We had a clear intention, which is always there is a window open to explore the opportunities to improve our squad with players that can impact it," he said in a recent press conference.

"We haven’t achieved it, so we are disappointed in that sense, but as well, we are very aware that we only want to bring ­certain kinds of players and we have to be very disciplined with that, and I think we will."

And the Gunners have made a positive start to the summer under Edu’s replacement as sporting director Andrea Berta - previously the co-architect of Atletico’s Madrid’s incredible last 12 years that have netted six trophies including two La Liga titles and the Europa League.

The signing of Martin Zubimendi for received a rare double ‘Here we go’ from Fabrizio Romano but the mini-Rodri is set to join Arsenal for £55m and improve their chance creation enormously - incidentally Berta was instrumental in bringing the Ballon d’Or to Atletico Madrid and also played a key role in signing Antoine Griezmann.

And he could be set to replay all the hits with Arsenal interested in a Griezmann-like Premier League superstar in the form of Morgan Rogers, and ready to battle Chelsea for his signature.

Morgan Rogers is the missing piece for Arsenal

Despite the ridicule about consistently finishing second, it’s impressive (or a bad look for the rest of the Premier League) that Arsenal managed to be runners-up once again with so many obvious flaws in particularly the Gunners’ attack - not enough invention from the back, impotence from their left wingers and of course missing a world-class centre forward.

With almost half of Arsenal’s attacks coming down the right in the Premier League last season - more than any other club - Arteta knows he must redress that balance and though not immediately an obvious candidate to solve that problem, Rogers could be the perfect solution.

His appearances for Aston Villa have been split almost exactly evenly between the left and right flanks, and through the middle and the 22-year-old would complement Saka well in a new-look Arsenal front three.

Rogers doesn’t have the same tearaway speed as Gabriel Martinelli but he was much more prolific last season, making 29 goal contributions at one every 155 minutes compared to 16 at one per 223 minutes for the Brazilian, and as Arsenal face more and more compact opponents that ability to sprinkle stardust in the final third becomes more and more invaluable.

As a left-footed player, Rogers could form a devastating partnership with incoming beanpole Benjamin Sesko, using his trickery to drive at the byline and pull the ball back either on the floor or in the air for the 6’5” Slovenian striker and contrasting effectively with Saka’s instincts to cut inside from the right.

Mikel Arteta factor can outshine Chelsea interest

Rumours that Rogers could be on the market first emerged from GIVEMESPORT almost a month ago as Aston Villa juggle a tricky summer where they could need to make a profit in transfers to avoid Profit and Sustainability Rules having operated with a runaway wage bill last season.

Losing his talisman would be a hammer-blow for Unai Emery but after missing out on Champions League qualification and refusing to cash in on Watkins in the winter, the chickens are coming home to roost with the ex-Arsenal boss keen to sign Marco Asensio permanently.

Chelsea obviously have no aversion to spending almost nine figures on a transfer fee but Rogers would need to fit into their wage structure and the Blues are apparently keen to plug gaps with less established stars like Jamie Gittens on the left-wing, so Arsenal could be perfectly placed to pounce and steal Rogers instead.