Why Arsenal must pay club-record fee to sign exciting winger over Yildiz

Arsenal‘s 3-0 win over Coventry City on Friday evening may well have been against a newly-promoted side but it was a highly impressive performance and result nonetheless.

The Gunners look ready to win the Premier League again and it was a warning sign to the rest of the division. They have set their stall out quickly.

The worrying thing for the rest of the league is that it does not look like Mikel Arteta’s side have very many weaknesses.

REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

William Saliba’s absence could have proven to be one but Cristhian Mosquera has started the season well and they have just signed Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa too.

Even the attack performed well on Friday. Christos Tzolis was a man possessed on the left flank but that doesn’t mean a new winger shouldn’t be prioritised. Kenan Yildiz is one of a number of options who could arrive before September 1st.

How Yildiz could fit into the Arsenal team

After winning the Premier League title few would have expected Arsenal to find things tricky in this window.

However, the nature of the market has dictated that you are going to have to overpay if you want your primary targets. The Gunners found that out the hard way when Morgan Rogers was stolen away from them by Chelsea to the tune of £117m. He is now the most-expensive English player of all time.

Vinicius Junior was also pursued but he ended up staying at Real Madrid. Arsenal will likely face a similar problem with Yildiz.

He has only just recently signed a new contract with Juventus and is unlikely to depart Turin before the window closes. Previously said to be worth around £87m, it’s likely that fee will rise and rise the closer we get to the deadline.

A move for around that price would be worth it though. After all, the Turkiye international is one of the best young forwards in Europe right now.

He’s something of a Rogers-type player too. While it is likely the 21-year-old would predominantly feature off the left for Arsenal should he arrive, providing competition with Tzolis, he could also play through the middle.

Yildiz has played as a centre-forward on four occasions in his career but he has enjoyed plenty of success while playing as a second striker or number 10. From those roles, the Juventus youngster has actually been far more productive than he has from out wide.

All that said, Arteta is unlikely to field him from the middle given the early season form of skipper Martin Odegaard.

So, perhaps a more out and out wide man is required?

Arsenal’s dream Kenan Yildiz alternative

For Arsenal, no winger will ever compare to Vinicius Junior. It would have been one of the most impressive captures in Premier League history.

Alas, the Gunners have had to cast their net wider in an attempt to bolster their forward ranks. Yildiz, despite his more impressive numbers centrally, would still be a cracking addition to improve the flanks, particularly in light of Gabriel Martinelli’s expected departure.

However, if they are able to hijack a move for PSG superstar Bradley Barcola, it would be even better.

It has been widely expected that the Frenchman will join Liverpool this summer. They have been negotiating with the Champions League winners for weeks but are haggling over a deal as a result of his inflated valuation. Caught Offside report this weekend that while the Reds value him at £120m, the Paris side are seeking £130m-£140m to let him leave the French capital.

That could play into Arsenal’s hands. They are clearly ready to spend big on a forward this summer and have the finances to do so after winning the league. Could that man be Barcola? Well, they are unlikely to pay the fee PSG want either but Caught Offside do suggest that the Gunners are in the picture to sign the winger and are ready to enter talks ‘aggressively’ if it becomes crystal clear that Liverpool are stalling over a move.

For Arteta, this would be a landmark deal, potentially the biggest in the club’s history. £130m-£140m would be too expensive but if they can drive that fee closer to the same valuation Liverpool want to pay, it would be good business.

After all, Barcola has the ability to really take Arsenal’s attack to the next level. He is the dynasty cementing signing that the Gunners have been searching for all summer.

Described as “one of the best left wingers in Europe” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, he is streets ahead of Yildiz, notably for his overall output.

When analysing the data, two things primarily stand out. Like Barcola, Yildiz is such a progressive player, he’s marvelous in tight spaces. In fact, the Turkish sensation is actually even better in that regard.

Yet, in other important metrics, the PSG outcast is superbly efficient. He’s more creative and he’s a more prolific goalscorer.

For an Arsenal attack requiring an uptick in output, that should be music to the ears of Arteta. In 2025/26, Barcola scored 13 and assisted seven but in 2024/25, he was a cut above many wingers on the continent, scoring and assisting 21 goals apiece.

To put that into context, Yildiz is yet to have a campaign in which he has scored more than 11. That may well have come last term but he is certainly a rawer and less proven asset. It’s why Barcola simply has to be Arsenal’s leading target throughout the last week of the window.