Arsenal Eye €80m Swoop for Barcola After World Cup Heroics

Arsenal are readying a substantial €80m (£69m) offer to prise Bradley Barcola away from Paris Saint-Germain, with the PSG speedster having just made an impact on football's biggest stage.

The 23-year-old French winger came off the bench to finish clinically during France's 3-1 victory over Senegal in their World Cup group stage opener. Adrien Rabiot's incisive through ball sent Barcola racing past the Senegal rearguard, and he made no mistake with the execution.

Barcola has his sights set on helping France claim a third World Cup crown—their first since 2018—but a move away from the French capital remains a possibility. The player is understood to be keen on departing PSG to secure regular first-team football.

Arsenal view the winger as a prime candidate to fill the left-wing berth, potentially as cover or replacement for Gabriel Martinelli. However, there's a significant stumbling block: PSG are holding firm at €100m (£87m) for their prized asset, meaning any deal will likely require protracted negotiations.

Barcola isn't short of admirers. Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are all monitoring developments closely. The Reds have been particularly active in the market, having already secured Victor Munoz, and are weighing up moves for either Barcola or RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande—for whom they've tabled a €100m proposal. Leipzig, though, are reluctant to sell the Ivorian talent.

Interestingly, Barcola and Diomande's situations appear interconnected, with PSG themselves tracking the Leipzig defender.

Back at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta is casting his net wide. Morgan Rogers, the England international at Aston Villa, is another name firmly on the radar. The Arsenal boss reckons Rogers could excel in either a left-wing or number 10 role. Despite Villa's recent Europa League success, Rogers is expected to seek a fresh challenge elsewhere. Sky Sports suggest £80m could be sufficient to unlock a deal with the Premier League champions, who are now stepping up their pursuit and actively exploring the possibility of bringing him in.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United have turned their attention to Arsenal's current left-wing options—Martinelli and Leandro Trossard—after missing out on Munoz to Liverpool.