The three players Arsenal missed out on to help solve left-wing problem
Mika Godts was one player Arsenal could have considered this summer(Image: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Arsenal have sadly not signed the fabled left-wing level-raiser this summer that the club has been perceived to need and want for the last two summers. It has raised eyebrows, particularly after allowing both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli to leave, on top of Gabriel Jesus being sold and Ethan Nwaneri leaving on loan.
There will always be question marks about the club’s decision and football.london understands the club were comfortable allowing Martinelli to leave after having seen the impact of Christos Tzolis in pre-season and the presence of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke as players who can play off the left.
However, there were perhaps some options in the market for the short or long term that either fulfilled the dream, or provided quality at a reasonable price without compromising on a big price and slamming the door shut on a top quality option in the future.
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After having a fantastic season with Ajax in which the 20-year-old scored 17 goals and got 12 assists in the Eredivisie, he now finds himself at Paris Saint-Germain. The Belgian winger was bought for a reasonable, in this market, £47million and will be the replacement for Bradley Barcola, who has joined Liverpool for well over double the fee paid to Ajax for Godts.
With Arsenal focused on established top talent, they missed out on a potential star of the future. With a move for Malick Fofana coming late in the window, Godts’ national team rival for the number three slot behind Leandro Trossard and Jeremy Doku, it is perhaps somewhat revealing of what could have been.
24 years old and scorer of 15 goals and adding 13 assists last season as Real Betis qualified for the UEFA Champions League, where they will face the Gunners this season in the league phase of the competition. A right-footed inverted left winger, the Moroccan international ticks the boxes of what the Gunners were looking for.
There has been interest this summer from other Premier League clubs, including Crystal Palace. However, football.london heard from sources at Real Betis that he was not a player the club have made an enquiry about. Perhaps they should have?
The one that got away. The theme of the summer has been that Arsenal have wanted players who raise the level of the squad after their Premier League title win, which, sadly, the market has not been forthcoming with.
Morgan Rogers was one such player, but the club took a patient approach at the start of the window, dissuaded by Aston Villa’s £100million valuation, £20million higher than what the club would have been willing to pay, and when Elliot Anderson’s move to Man City was confirmed for £116million Villa upped the asking price even higher, which eventually Chelsea paid.
Had Arsenal moved sooner and bigger, Rogers could certainly have been playing in red and white, and for less than what Chelsea eventually paid, which, for the record, is a ridiculous amount of money; the same can be said for Bradley Barcola, another player who the club were never interested in coming close to PSG’s asking price.
Tom Canton joined football.london as the Arsenal Fan Brand Writer and Presenter before becoming a permanent Arsenal Reporter in 2025. Tom produces plenty of analytical content in addition to breaking stories and is a regular attendee at matches and press conferences. Can also be found on YouTube @TheGoonerTalkTV
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