£80m superstar wants to join Arsenal this summer

Eli Junior Kroupi may not be an Arsenal player yet but he provided the playing and coaching staff at the Emirates Stadium with one of their moments of the season.

As the players gathered at their London Colney training base two weeks ago to watch Bournemouth vs Manchester City, it was a goal from the young French striker that confirmed the Gunners as Premier League champions.

For that strike, Kroupi will always be held in the hearts of Arsenal supporters the world over and wouldn’t it now be quite something if he signed for them this summer?

Well, if reports are to be believed, the French sensation is on their radar ahead of the transfer window.

Arsenal targeting an even better signing than Kroupi

One of the biggest priorities for Arsenal this summer is to bolster their forward line. Clearly, Mikel Arteta was not totally convinced by what he saw from the likes of Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres after their arrivals a year ago.

Kroupi would certainly tick a lot of boxes but an asking price of £80m or more could be prohivitive for Arsenal depending on what other priorities they have.

The latest on that move comes from Fabrizio Romano who reported on Monday that the Gunners had started talks to sign the player from Bournemouth. They are joined by Manchester City and PSG in the race to sign the 19-year-old.

The teenager is not the only Premier League-proven player that Andrea Berta could bring to the Emirates. Indeed, Morgan Rogers remains a key target for Arsenal.

According to Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport, Rogers is on the club’s shortlist alongside Kroupi but similarly, he could cost any suitor over £80m.

Mokbel goes on to state Arsenal’s interest in the Aston Villa man is ‘genuine’ but they face competition from Manchester United to prise him away from the Midlands.

That said, Rogers is said to be ‘open’ to joining Arteta’s side this season as he looks to leave Villa behind in search of the chance to win more major silverware.

Why Rogers would be a better signing than Kroupi

Don’t get us wrong, if Arsenal could sign both players it would be a huge signal of intent heading into next term.

There are not many better young players in world football right now than Kroupi. He netted 13 times in 2025/26, the highest number of goals a teenager has ever scored in their debut Premier League campaign. He’s a special talent.

Yet, as much as the Gunners need to sign their answer to Erling Haaland, a ruthless centre-forward who can win games on their own, it is not the biggest priority this summer. Instead, signing a winger is.

However good Kroupi is, if their price tags are similar, then it must be Rogers who is prioritised by Berta and Co in the forthcoming months.

Aged 23, the Villa superstar is one of the best players in the Premier League, perhaps even the best player outside of the division’s typical big six sides.

In 2024/25, he won the PFA Young Player of the Year award and has not let up since that breakthrough season under Unai Emery’s wing. He’s only getting better and would represent a versatile asset capable of taking Arsenal’s forward line to the next level.

Now, there may well be understandable concerns around Rogers’ profile. It’s very similar to Eze’s. Both prefer operating as a no.10 but they can also play off the left.

There is a sense, however, that the England international is just what Arsenal are lacking on the left side of their attack. As Rogers once admitted, he doesn’t really mind where he plays. “My favourite position depends on the game,” he said in an interview. “It depends where the space is. I want to play in space. Wherever that is on the pitch, I want to play there.”

That should be music to the ears of supporters and indeed Arteta who loves a player like that.

The striker berth is very much up for debate this summer but if there is one area where they simply have to strengthen it’s on the left flank. Leandro Trossard went 25 games without scoring a goal before popping up with that vital winner against West Ham.

As for Gabriel Martinelli, he may well have scored a vital equaliser against Manchester City during the embryonic stages of the campaign but that was his only Premier League goal all season.

The duo feel like two of the most expendable assets in the team this summer and signing someone such as Rogers would represent an enormous upgrade.

Kroupi is great but he’s not exactly a left winger; Rogers is much more suited to playing in that role and he could be game-changing for Arteta’s attacking line.

The former Middlesbrough man has scored 14 goals in back to back season, while also contributing 16 assists in 2024/25 and a further 12 in 2025/26.

Arsenal have already enjoyed plenty of success by raiding the Premier League before. David Raya and Declan Rice are a testament to that. Rogers would surely be a success story too.