In the summer of 2023, everything changed for the Gunners. Arsenal were in second place behind Manchester City and were one step away from winning the Premier League.
It has been a familiar theme for Mikel Arteta’s government, but he has now finally crossed the line.
However, if we had not carried out the project ahead of the 2023/24 period, we may not have won the title three years later. That summer, they not only brought in Declan Rice in a huge £105 million deal, but also signed David Raya, Julian Timber and Kai Havertz.
Since the signing, they have become Arteta’s four most important players.
Arsenal made another big breakthrough last summer, but 2023 will be different. That year it was important to raise the ceiling, and last year it was important to raise the floor.
So what’s the recipe for 2026? Well, after winning the league, it’s certainly going to be finding someone to raise the ceiling again.
Arsenal aim for another £100m deal
Just under a year ago, Arsenal signed eight new players in the summer transfer window, and it seems unlikely they will do so again in Andrea Berta’s third transfer window at the helm.
This time it’s about handpicking the best players available to strengthen your title-winning team. The Gunners have the luxury of being picky and are unlikely to run into too many problems trying to convince their key targets to move to the Emirates Stadium.
Despite the arrival of Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Victor Gokeres in 2025, one of their biggest priorities must be to strengthen their attack.
What fans want is Julian Alvarez. Arsenal are reportedly in talks to sign the Atletico Madrid striker, but with a valuation of more than £100m, it seems unlikely they would spend that much on a new centre-forward a year after Gokeres’ arrival.
Arsenal’s most expensive contract in history
The Gunners have spent generously in recent years.
Alvarez is not the only big-money player who could move to the Emirates Stadium. Indeed, reports in recent days have suggested that Morgan Rodgers is a key target for Arteta & Co., with reports suggesting he has already held talks with the player’s advisers on Tuesday.
According to Football Transfers, it has now been revealed that Arsenal have carried out an “extensive search” for the player.
Berta is said to be a “huge fan” of the player and has made it his “personal project” to bring the Aston Villa star to north London this summer.
Arsenal’s transfer chiefs are already keen to sign the player, but Villa’s offer will likely have to come down. They value Rodgers at £100m, but the Premier League champions want significantly less than that.
Why Rodgers could be Arsenal’s other Declan Rice
The summer of 2023 changed the lives of Arsenal fans. Rice to Emirates for £105m fee? I’m talking now.
In the process of signing the midfielder, he overcame competition from title rivals Manchester City to sign him and, alongside Gabriel and William Saliba, he was perhaps the biggest difference-maker compared to Josep Guardiola’s side in 2025-26.
He is one of the best midfielders in the world, one of the best players in the world, and talk of a Ballon d’Or candidate is already going on.
How Rodgers ended up at Arsenal will be a surprisingly similar story. Rice was released by Chelsea as a boy, but found fame and stardom elsewhere, joining West Ham United, where he captained the club and played in the Conference League, Europe’s trophy.
Declan Rice – Career Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
team | game | the goal | assist |
west ham | 245 | 15 | 13 |
arsenal | 157 | twenty one | 31 |
West Ham U23 | 33 | 0 | 1 |
england | 72 | 6 | 6 |
In Rodgers’ case, he left Man City as a youngster before heading to Middlesbrough in the Championship and then had to move to Villa, where, like Rice, he tasted silverware on the continental stage, winning the Europa League a week earlier.
More comparisons are needed here. Rodgers is currently one of the best English players playing for a team outside of the Premier League’s typical big six sides, as Rice was at the time of his move.
It’s only a matter of time before Villa’s superstar leaves for pastures new. Indeed, in the words of Jamie Carragher, in recent years he has looked like “not just one of the best young players in the Premier League, but one of the best in the league”.
It’s hard to dispute that fact. In the 2024/25 season, the 23-year-old scored 14 goals in all competitions and provided a further 16 assists, earning him the PFA Premier League Player of the Year award.
Rodgers likely struggled to find similar consistency in 2025/26, but was still elite for the Villains, scoring a further 14 times and providing 12 assists.
The versatile England star can play on the left or as a number 10 behind the striker. He also has the elite mentality that Rice has. In an interview with BBC Sport earlier this season, the attacker said some words that will no doubt pique Arteta’s interest.
He said: “I like to think of myself as a player who can do a lot of different things on the pitch if asked. I can be a number 10, I can be a winger, I can be a striker. If you ask me to do it and you show me how to do it, I have the ability to offer something different that other people don’t have.”
Rodgers continued: “My favorite position depends on the game. It depends on where the space is. I want to play in space. Wherever that is on the pitch, I want to play there.”
For Arteta and Berta, that should be music to their ears. They love players who are adaptable, players who are ready to listen and that is exactly what the Villa man will give them with his arrival this summer.
Rice will love him: Arsenal in club negotiations to sign mega-midfielder
Arsenal are hoping to sign a big-money midfielder to partner Declan Rice and boost their title bid.
