Arsenal Pursue Morgan Rogers as Top Forward Target
Arsenal have fixed their sights on Morgan Rogers. Not as a secondary option. As the forward target of their summer.
An approach to Aston Villa is now expected, with interest around the 23-year-old set to ramp up in the wake of England’s World Cup exit and Arsenal’s £34m agreement for Christos Tzolis. The North London club have cleared space on the left with Leandro Trossard heading out; the next step is to fill it with a player they believe can change the profile of their attack.
There have been no formal club-to-club talks yet between Arsenal and Villa, but the scale of the operation is already clear. Rogers is likely to cost in excess of £100m, a fee shaped by a market that has already seen big-money deals for midfielders such as Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali. Villa know they hold a premium asset and are acting like it.
Villa dig in – and hold all the cards
Unai Emery’s side have made their stance plain: they do not want to sell. Rogers signed a new contract in November, tying him to Villa Park until 2031, and that long-term deal gives the Midlands club a commanding position at the negotiating table.
They can point not just to potential, but to production. Last season, Rogers delivered 14 goals and 11 assists in 55 appearances for Villa, numbers that helped power Emery’s expansive system and propelled the forward from promising youngster into a fully-fledged England international.
Since arriving from Middlesbrough in 2024 in a deal worth £16m, his rise has been rapid. Twenty-one caps for England have followed. He played five times at the 2026 World Cup and set up Anthony Gordon’s goal in the semi-final defeat to Argentina. Performances at that level have a habit of inflating prices – and attracting rivals.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are all monitoring the situation. Arsenal are not bidding in a vacuum; they are trying to prise away a player who has become one of the most coveted attacking talents in Europe.
Arteta’s left-side rebuild
Inside the Emirates, the plan is clear. With Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze already operating in central zones, Arsenal view Rogers as a wide option, primarily on the left.
Mikel Arteta wants a different dynamic down that flank. With Tzolis incoming and Trossard departing, this is not a tweak, it is a reset. The idea is to add a left-sided threat who can both attack the box and drop into midfield pockets, mirroring some of the fluidity that has defined Emery’s Villa.
The numbers suggest Rogers can live out there without fuss. Around 45 per cent of his Premier League minutes for Villa last season came as a left winger, part of a rotating cast behind Ollie Watkins that included Emiliano Buendia and John McGinn. In that structure, he learned how to stretch the pitch, drift inside, and still arrive with purpose in the final third.
Crucially, he is not locked into one role. Rogers started out as a winger at Lincoln City, was used as a false nine and centre-forward at Middlesbrough, and even lined up on the right in England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina, where he supplied Gordon’s goal. Wherever coaches have placed him, he has found a way to influence the game.
At 23, there is still room – and time – to refine him again. Arsenal believe that with targeted coaching, he can own that left-wing berth, blending his attacking midfield instincts with the demands of a modern wide forward.
Can a No 10 become a permanent winger?
The key tactical question hangs over his transition. Rogers made his name as an attacking midfielder, to the point where he was pushing Jude Bellingham for England’s No 10 role. Shifting such a central influence wider always carries risk.
Yet his versatility is precisely what tempts Arteta. In possession, he can slide into the half-spaces, combine with Odegaard and Eze, and overload the middle. Out of possession, he has the legs and work rate to press full-backs and track runners. Arsenal are not simply buying a winger; they are targeting a hybrid who can tilt games from multiple zones.
For Villa, that adaptability only strengthens their hand. They can argue they are losing not one position, but several, in a single sale.
Other forward irons in the fire
Rogers is the headline pursuit, but not the only name on Arsenal’s attacking board.
The club remain interested in Julian Alvarez, though any move looks complicated. The player’s family prefer to stay in Spain and Alvarez wants to join Barcelona, a combination that leaves Arsenal facing an uphill battle.
Another forward under consideration is PSG’s Bradley Barcola, a player who is also on Liverpool’s radar. Arsenal and PSG have not entered direct talks, but the conditions of a potential deal have been explored and quietly mapped out.
PSG do not want to sell Barcola, yet his future could hinge on what the French champions do elsewhere in the window. One major arrival in Paris could open a door; for now, it remains only ajar.
So Arsenal circle back to the man at the centre of their summer. Morgan Rogers: creator, scorer, left winger, No 10, England international, and the subject of a chase that will test just how far the club are willing to go to finish their attacking rebuild.
