Arsenal are chasing Bruno Guimarães and Morgan Rogers because both fit Mikel Arteta’s push for more attacking quality. That chase comes after Arsenal won their first Premier League title in 22 years and reached the 2025 UEFA Champions League final, where they lost to Paris Saint-Germain. The club has moved on from just adding depth and is looking for sharper final-third impact.

Guimaraes and Rogers offer different upgrades

The case for Guimaraes is pretty direct. His latest World Cup outing brought a 7.9 rating and two goal contributions in 93 minutes, while he has 3 goal contributions across his last 3 World Cup appearances. He also has 9 Premier League goals and 5 assists this season, which is the kind of output Arsenal want if they are serious about upgrading the No8 areas.

Rogers is the more aggressive attacking bet. He has hit an 8.5 rating in one of his latest Premier League appearances and has 2 goal involvements across his last 5 club matches. Arsenal’s interest in him points to a club trying to add more individual quality in the final third, not just another safe squad option.

The price and the fit both matter

TeamTalk says Arsenal opened with a £55m approach for Guimaraes and are preparing a new £80m proposal, while Newcastle value him at £100m. That gap suggests the deal is not settled, even if the interest is real. On Rogers, the reporting is similar in one key respect: Arsenal are tracking him as a top target, and he could cost at least £80m, with some reports putting the figure higher.

That is where the recruitment logic gets interesting. Arteta has been open about wanting more quality in individual actions, and Arsenal’s summer moves already show the club acting like a side that thinks it can still go up a level. Piero Hincapie’s permanent signing for €40m (£34.5m) plus bonuses points to a busy window, and these two targets would add a different type of threat.

The argument is not that Arsenal need both men to be better. It is that both would make them harder to contain in different parts of the pitch, and the club is acting like a side that expects to keep pushing from a title-winning base.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →