Better than Saka: Arsenal officials fly out to USA to sign “the next Mbappe”

For Bukayo Saka, the final yr of his profession has arguably been essentially the most tough thus far. It is not been an excellent one for the Arsenal winger in any respect.

After tearing his hamstring in 2024/25, he then spent plenty of final season enjoying by way of harm and the ache barrier. Saka began simply 25 Premier League matches and though he performed 49 video games all through all competitions, his degree was far under what now we have come to count on from him.

The winger has been managing achilles tendonitis throughout 2026 and it is impacted him closely on the World Cup. The 24-year-old might nicely have registered three assists for England however he is solely began two video games; the wins over Panama and Mexico.

What Saka actually wanted this summer time was just a few months off. He’ll nonetheless get three weeks to wind down as soon as the World Cup is over, however there should fears about his achilles long-term proper now.

Arsenal merely should signal extra high quality and depth in assault this summer time consequently.

Arsenal exploring transfer for big-money winger

Even earlier than Saka’s achilles aptitude up, Mikel Arteta and Co wanted to deliver one or two new wingers to the Emirates Stadium.

They did, in fact, signal Noni Madueke a yr in the past and honestly, regardless of some inconsistent performances, he was invaluable as Saka managed his harm issues.

Supporters need extra high quality although, gamers with extra consistency, and within the form of Morgan Rogers they might discover that.

Rogers is one in all two main targets to strengthen out large this summer time however Aston Villa are demanding an earth shattering £130m charge to half firm with the England worldwide. At that worth, he will probably be unobtainable.

Consequently, Andrea Berta can also be engaged on a deal to signal Bradley Barcola from PSG. He’ll value the earth too however will probably be a tad cheaper. It has been revealed it might take as a lot as £116m to extract him from Paris.

The most recent on their pursuit of the Frenchman comes from The Every day Mail who report that with Leandro Trossard edging nearer to the exit door, they’re ramping up their pursuit of Barcola.

It’s famous that, amid curiosity from Liverpool and Arsenal, the participant is open to listening to their proposals.

The Gunners would seem like extra superior on the participant, sending a delegation to the USA to not simply watch the winger in motion in opposition to Sweden however to additionally communicate along with his camp a few potential switch.

How Bradley Barcola compares to Bukayo Saka

Since Arteta turned Arsenal supervisor, no participant has been extra essential to him than Saka. He has performed essentially the most video games (292), scored essentially the most (78) and assisted essentially the most targets (77) than another teammate.

Nevertheless, because the Gunners ended over twenty years with no Premier League trophy, the England man struggled for consistency. Saka nonetheless netted 11 instances and assisted 9 however for what now we have been used to, he was under par.

The hope will probably be that subsequent season, he can get again to his finest. Whereas among the explosiveness has gone, he’s nonetheless probably the greatest large gamers in Europe. He can take gamers on, he can create at will and he is nonetheless medical in entrance of aim.

Nevertheless, at this second in time, it could be arduous to dispute that Barcola is not the higher participant. For the 2 time Champions League wingers, the 23-year-old has been merely electrical.

In 2024/25, the French celebrity scored 21 targets and equipped an additional 21 for his colleagues. That betters any season Saka has loved at Arsenal. His finest seasonal return was in 2023/24 when the 24-year-old discovered the online on 20 events and supplied 14 assists.

In current instances, Barcola has been extra menacing and the stats inform us all the pieces.

In terms of goalscoring, the PSG large man is just on one other degree to Saka, significantly over the past yr. He takes extra pictures and crucially, is concerned in additional massive probabilities per 90 minutes.

From a artistic standpoint – Saka’s finest attribute – Barcola additionally reigns supreme. Throughout 2025/26, the previous Lyon prodigy produced extra progressive passes and pulled off extra profitable dribbles. They registered an similar tally of anticipated assists from open play.

An electrifying expertise, there’s a cause that Como scout Ben Mattinson described him as “probably the greatest left-wingers in Europe” and why journalist Robin Bairner referred to as him “the following Mbappe”. There are only a few higher large gamers on the market for the time being. Barcola isn’t just a extra prolific goalscorer however he is additionally faster and extra explosive.

For Saka, the lucky factor is that they might probably play on opposing wings and that’s one thing that Arsenal supporters can get very enthusiastic about if a switch goes by way of.