Arsenal’s summer plans point to major change across midfield and attack: Morgan Rogers is the priority target, Martin Ødegaard’s place is uncertain, and Sandro Tonali has attracted a rejected €92.5 million bid from Tottenham. Jeremy Monga, meanwhile, appears close to joining from Leicester. Taken together, the reports describe a recruitment effort with several moving parts: Arsenal are pursuing expensive, established options while also working on a younger winger. The picture is still unsettled, though. Interest, reported conversations and a bid are different stages of a transfer, and none guarantees a completed deal.
Rice may help Arsenal pursue Rogers
Arsenal hope Declan Rice can influence Rogers’ decision while both are with England at the World Cup. The Daily Mail reports that Rice has been speaking to the Aston Villa midfielder about a move to Mikel Arteta’s side. Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze are also in the England camp, giving Arsenal several players who could offer Rogers a first-hand view of the club. That kind of personal contact can help make a pitch more tangible, but it can’t settle the fee or determine whether Villa are willing to sell.
Paris Saint-Germain are competing for the 26-year-old, whose expected price exceeds €100 million. Arsenal are targeting “four or five quality signings this summer”, according to the report, with Rogers at the top of their list. That target count suggests the club is thinking about the shape of the squad across more than one position; a single expensive signing would have to fit alongside the rest of that plan. Competition from PSG adds another variable, since the player’s decision may depend on what each club can offer in role and opportunity, not just the headline fee.
His estimated transfer value is €72.4 million, with a range of €65.1 million to €79.6 million—well below the fee Villa are reportedly expected to seek. Such estimates offer a point of comparison, rather than a reliable forecast of what a club will accept. A selling club’s asking price can reflect its own plans and the difficulty of replacing a key player, while a buyer has to weigh that cost against its other targets. The gap here is substantial. Arsenal’s interest may be clear, but the reported price makes the practical route to a deal less so.
Ødegaard’s position is uncertain
Arsenal could also consider a significant midfield departure. BBC Sport’s Sami Mokbel said on the Latte Firm podcast that there had been “some whispers over the summer” about the club being willing to let Martin Ødegaard leave for the right price. That wording describes reported talk, not a confirmed decision or a formal offer. Still, even the possibility matters: a club’s plans for an incoming midfielder can look different if it’s also assessing whether one of its current players might depart.
The 27-year-old had a difficult season, with persistent injuries limiting him. That may factor into Arsenal’s thinking as they assess whether to refresh the position. Availability is part of squad planning, especially when a team is weighing the demands of a long season against the cost of adding players. But injuries alone don’t tell us what Arsenal will decide, and the report doesn’t establish that the club has set a price or chosen a replacement. Ødegaard’s future remains uncertain; the evidence presented is suggestive, not conclusive.
Newcastle reject Tottenham’s Tonali offer
Tottenham have joined Arsenal and Manchester City in the pursuit of Sandro Tonali, making an unexpected €92.5 million (£80 million) offer that Newcastle rejected, The Telegraph reports. The size of the bid shows that Spurs have moved beyond general interest, at least according to the report, but Newcastle’s rejection leaves the central question unresolved: what would persuade the club to sell? A rejected offer can set a reference point for further talks without meaning that another bid is certain.
Newcastle were reportedly surprised by Spurs’ approach: Tonali’s agents had previously raised interest from Arsenal and City. Several clubs have enquired about the former AC Milan midfielder, but none has met Newcastle’s reported €115 million valuation. The club wants his situation settled before pre-season starts on 14 July, mindful of last summer’s Alexander Isak saga. That deadline gives the negotiations a clear point of urgency, although it doesn’t tell us whether Newcastle will lower its demand or whether any interested side will raise its offer. And this is the part most people overlook: multiple clubs being linked to a player can increase attention without making a deal easier to complete.
Tonali’s estimated transfer value is €74 million, with a range of €66.6 million to €81.4 million, below Newcastle’s asking price. As with Rogers, that estimate shouldn’t be read as a price Newcastle has agreed to accept. The reported valuation and the reported offer are already far apart, suggesting that a buyer would need either to make a much stronger bid or negotiate different terms to change the club’s position. For Arsenal, Tonali’s situation is a reminder that competing for a player is only one part of recruitment. The selling club’s demands can define whether interest becomes a realistic pursuit.
Monga could be Arsenal’s first arrival
Arsenal are expected to complete a deal for Leicester winger Jeremy Monga before pre-season. The 16-year-old has already made 37 first-team appearances, and the club face competition from other Premier League sides. Those appearances give the reported move a different profile from a routine youth signing: Monga has already had senior exposure, though that fact alone doesn’t establish how quickly he could contribute at Arsenal. For a young player, the quality of the development route and the opportunity to progress will matter alongside the club’s interest.
Mokbel said there is “a broad agreement now in place with the player” and that Monga wants to join. The remaining step, he reported, is for Arsenal to agree a deal with Leicester. If completed, that would give the club an early addition as its wider recruitment effort takes shape. The distinction between an agreement with a player and an agreement between clubs is significant; until the latter is reached, the move remains unfinished. Still, the report makes Monga appear closer to Arsenal than the senior targets discussed elsewhere.
What Arsenal’s summer plan could mean
These reports suggest Arsenal are looking across different time horizons: established midfielders who could shape the senior team, a possible change involving Ødegaard, and a young winger who could develop within the squad. That’s a broad set of aims, but the practical test will be whether the club can coordinate arrivals and departures while managing the fees involved. If you’re working in this space, the useful signal is the contrast between Monga’s reported agreement with the player and the unresolved negotiations around more expensive targets.
This is more significant than it looks. A summer plan can sound coherent on paper while depending on separate decisions by players and selling clubs, each with their own timing and price expectations. Arsenal’s reported interest in Rogers and Tonali indicates competition for midfield talent; the uncertainty around Ødegaard makes the eventual balance harder to judge. The numbers here are underwhelming as a guide to what deals will actually cost: estimated values sit well below the reported demands for both Rogers and Tonali. Here's the thing: until clubs agree terms, a priority target is still just a target.
Arsenal’s recruitment picture is taking shape, but it isn’t settled. For now, the reports point to ambition, competition and several negotiations that still have to clear the hardest hurdle: agreement between clubs.