Emmanuel Frimpong has put Bradley Barcola on Arsenal's summer shortlist and he did not hedge around it. The former Arsenal midfielder said the club should not just win it once and be satisfied with that, and added that they still need a couple of wingers and a proper number eight. He named Barcola as one of the realistic signings he would like to see at the Emirates.

Frimpong's case for Arsenal to keep strengthening

Frimpong's message was more ambitious than cautious. He said Arsenal should keep building after their title-winning season, and pushed the idea that one success should not be treated as the finish line. He also singled out Bruno Guimarães as another player he would love to see join, which tells you the sort of window he thinks Arsenal should be aiming for.

Barcola fits that argument on the evidence available. He has 3 goals in 8 appearances across 2026 in all competitions, and his recent 7.9 rating suggests his current form is strong enough to keep elite clubs interested. That is a decent return rather than a superstar sample, but it is enough to explain why he keeps coming up in this kind of conversation.

Liverpool's pursuit adds pressure

Liverpool are already in official club-to-club talks with Paris Saint Germain over Barcola, and Fabrizio Romano said the club's opening offer was over €100m. Another report put PSG's asking price at around €170million (£145m), while a separate line in the market suggested a softer figure of £128.5m. The exact number depends on which source you trust, but the fee is clearly in heavyweight territory.

That is where Arsenal's interest becomes more than loose admiration. Barcola is not being discussed as a bargain or a backup option, and Liverpool's chase shows the level of competition around him. Liverpool's 5th-place Premier League finish in 2024/25 and 60 points across 38 league games are part of the backdrop to why they are still looking for more attacking quality.

Frimpong's view is simple enough: Arsenal have won, but they should still strengthen. Barcola is one of the names he would use to make that case, and Liverpool's talks with PSG mean the race is already moving before the summer has really settled.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →