The 25/26 season could prove to be Mikel Arteta’s most challenging as Arsenal manager.
The Spaniard has done fantastically well over the last five and a bit years to take the club from mid-table mediocrity to serious contenders in both the Premier League and Champions League.
However, since the FA Cup win in 2020, he hasn’t been able to deliver any silverware, and with fan expectations now where they are, it feels like next season may be make-or-break time.
Fortunately, the board look like they are trying to help him out, as recent reports have linked Arsenal to an outrageously talented winger, someone who is even better than Rodrygo.
Arsenal's winger search
With Arsenal scoring 17 fewer goals than Liverpool and three fewer than Manchester City in the Premier League this season, it was clear that the two priorities this summer had to be a new number nine and a new left-winger to help alleviate the pressure on Bukayo Saka.
Transfer Focus
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So, it’s not surprising to see the North Londoners linked with a host of talented wide players in recent weeks and months, from Rafael Leao to the aforementioned Rodrygo.
The former enjoyed a pretty strong campaign with AC Milan this season, racking up a tally of 12 goals and 13 assists in 50 appearances, and could be available for around £77m, whereas the latter could cost just as much but did marginally worse, scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists in two more games.
In short, either attacker would seriously bolster the North Londoners’ frontline options for next season, but it now appears as if the club are looking at someone else, someone better than the Real Madrid star: Bradley Barcola.
According to a recent report from L’Equipe, Arsenal are one of several teams seriously interested in the Paris Saint-Germain gem.
The report has revealed that, alongside the likes of Chelsea and Bayern Munich, the Gunners have already made an approach for the 22-year-old dynamo, who didn’t start the Champions League final.
The bad news is that the story claims that PSG have no intention of selling the talented winger, but according to stories from earlier in the summer, he has a valuation of around £101m, so there may still be a chance to strike a deal.
It would be an incredibly complicated and costly transfer to get done, but given Barcola’s immense ability and potential, it’s one worth fighting for, especially as he’d be a better signing than Rodrygo.
Why Arsenal's £101m target is better than Rodrygo
If we are arguing that one attacking player would make for a better signing than another, the first place to see how the pair stack up against one another would be their raw output, and when doing that, Barcola comes out miles ahead.
For example, in 59 appearances for the Parisians, totalling 3678 minutes, the utterly superb 22-year-old has scored 21 goals and provided 19 assists.
That means that the Lyon-born machine has been able to maintain an average of a goal involvement every 1.47 games, or even more impressively, every 91.95 minutes – just imagine that level of output opposite Saka.
In contrast, Rodrygo’s 25 goal involvements have come in 52 appearances, totalling 3425 minutes, and while that is still fantastic, it does come to a worse average of a goal involvement every 2.08 games or every 137 minutes.
The young Frenchman continues to look like the better signing when we take a look under the hood as well, lending credence to analyst Ben Mattinson’s claim that he is “one of the best LW’s in Europe.”
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.97
0.32
Non-Penalty Goals + Assists
0.99
0.51
Progressive Passes
3.97
5.05
Progressive Carries
5.66
5.28
Shots
3.05
2.52
Shots on Target
1.57
0.93
Passing Accuracy
81.7%
85.9%
Key Passes
2.07
2.29
Passes into the Penalty Area
2.11
1.21
Shot-Creating Actions
4.17
4.95
Goal-Creating Actions
0.83
0.42
Tackles Won
0.70
0.65
Blocks
1.03
0.84
Interceptions
0.79
0.51
Clearances
0.50
0.42
Successful Take-Ons
1.40
2.29
Not only does he do better in crucial output-related metrics like expected and actual non-penalty goals plus assists, but the data also shows he’s far more willing to do the dirty work as well, with him coming out way on top for things like tackles won, blocks, clearances and more all per 90.
This ability to both supercharge the attack while also not leaving his full-back out at sea could make the former Lyon gem the perfect left-winger for an Arteta system.
Finally, with FBref placing him in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers for touches in the opposition’s penalty area and the top 9% for progressive carries, fans can expect the PSG phenom to get them on their feet on a regular basis, especially as U23 scout Antonio Mango described him as having “devastating pace.”
Ultimately, while Rodrygo would still be an excellent signing for Arsenal this summer, Barcola appears to be better in every way, and therefore, the club should be doing all they can to secure his services.
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