Arsenal held their nerve on the biggest wingers on the market. Liverpool and Chelsea did not, and the numbers now sit uncomfortably next to each other.
Liverpool reached a deal in principle worth around £120m with Paris Saint-Germain for France international Bradley Barcola. Chelsea paid Aston Villa £117m to make England forward Morgan Rogers their new club record signing on a seven-year contract. Arsenal, who had been in the queue for Rogers, walked away and turned to a cheaper target.
That target was Christos Tzolis. The Greece international joined from Club Brugge for £34m on a five-year contract, taking the shirt vacated by Leandro Trossard, who left for Besiktas.
The Martinelli hole opened late
The bigger problem is what happened at the other end of Arsenal’s left flank. Gabriel Martinelli, one of the club’s most consistent attackers, agreed to join Al-Hilal after Arsenal accepted the Saudi Pro League club’s approach. Reports put the fee in the region of £55m to £60m, a figure that would rank among the largest sales in the club’s history.
His replacement is the same Tzolis who was originally bought as cover for Trossard. Arsenal’s summer wide-forward math therefore comes out short: one senior left-winger out, one signing in.
Sporting director Andrea Berta framed the new arrival as a versatile attacker rather than a straight Martinelli swap.
“Christos is an extremely versatile attacking player who naturally operates on the left but is comfortable across the front line,” Berta said in the club’s announcement. “He’s an excellent finisher with both feet, thrives in tight spaces, and possesses incredible technical ability.”
Rivals broke their own records. Arsenal did not
Arsenal did spend elsewhere. Bruno Guimarães arrived from Newcastle for a reported £75m and Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa for around £55m, alongside Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapié on a permanent deal from Bayer Leverkusen and goalkeeper Illan Meslier on a free from Leeds. Total outlay, on the numbers reported so far, sits well inside what the club had available for a top-of-the-market winger.
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