At a Glance:
- Arsenal are looking to go big again in the transfer window this summer.
- The Gunners are reportedly interested in Morgan Rogers.
- Here are five reasons why they shouldn’t sign the Aston Villa midfielder.
Arsenal are seemingly set to invest heavily in the transfer window once again this summer, and Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers appears to be one of Andrea Berta’s primary targets.
The Gunners spent around £250 million on eight new players last summer, and despite winning the Premier League title this season, are now planning more ambitious moves. Reports suggest Berta and Mikel Arteta sense they have a window to dominate English football due to the instability at rival clubs, and the pair are subsequently looking to pounce on this opportunity.
While another £250 million outlay is unlikely, Fabrizio Romano revealed on Monday that at least three signings are expected at the Emirates. A left-winger, a central midfielder and a right-back are said to be the priority areas, while a striker could also follow.
Rogers is on Arsenal’s radar, with Villa reportedly placing an £80 million price tag on the number ten. However, here are five reasons why the Gunners shouldn’t sign the England international.
Only Arsenal can. pic.twitter.com/VplKclf45S
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 2, 2026
The price for Morgan Rogers is too high
Based on his output over the last two seasons, there is no doubt that Rogers is a good player who can contribute at a high level. He now has a Europa League winners’ medal in his back pocket and will be competing at the World Cup with England in the summer.
However, there are question marks around the prospective price tag. While £80 million may not seem too steep in the current market, it’s very unlikely Villa will actually sanction Rogers’ departure at this value.
Reports have already emerged indicating that Villa don’t want to sell Rogers. This isn’t exactly a surprise given his importance to Unai Emery’s team, and it suggests they won’t settle for anything that isn’t astronomical.
While a good player, is Rogers worth forking out Declan Rice money for? Probably not, as he’s not likely to be transformative in the way the former West Ham man has been for Arsenal.
Morgan Rogers is not a winger
Arsenal’s priority this summer is understood to be a top-class left-winger. Given Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli’s respective struggles this term, this isn’t a huge surprise.
Rogers simply isn’t a winger, and never has been. He’s spent almost all of his career to date as a number ten or second striker to Ollie Watkins.
While he could transition into being a wide player, it’s not clear whether his ball-carrying would translate to these areas of the pitch. If you’re spending potentially upwards of £100 million on a player, you want to be sure that they can play in the role you want them to play to a high level, and they just cannot be sure that Rogers will be an elite winger. It’d be one hell of a gamble.
Morgan Rogers lacks attributes Arsenal need
Rogers’ strongest attributes are his ball-carrying in central areas and his shooting from range. He thrives in a team that isn’t possession-dominant and purposely creates moments of transition to exploit the opposition.
Arsenal do not play in this way. In the Gunners’ ideal game, they have all of the ball in and around the opponents’ final third.
Rogers does not have the attributes to help Arsenal break teams down through intricate passing patterns. While he may be capable of scoring a few long shots in a season, this unsustainable route to goal isn’t what is going to elevate the level of the Gunners’ attack.
Arteta’s team have looked at their best when Martin Odegaard has been playing at his highest level, because of what the best version of Odegaard brings – ball progression through mid-blocks and creative passing in the final third. Rogers provides neither of these attributes.
Morgan Rogers’ underlying numbers are concerning
Stats aren’t for everyone, but they do paint a good picture of a player. When looking through Rogers’ statistical profile, it becomes clear that his output may not be sustainable.
He scored 14 goals from 6.78 expected goals and registered eleven assists from 4.3 expected assists. While it can be assumed based on the evidence that he is a significantly above-average finisher, this level of overperformance is rarely sustainable, and this began to show itself in the second half of the season when his numbers dried up.
| Morgan Rogers’ 2025/26 Statistics per 90 (All Competitions) | ||
| Stat | Value | Percentile Rank |
| Goals | 0.27 | 76th |
| Non-Penalty Expected Goals | 0.19 | 59th |
| Shots | 2.3 | 73rd |
| Expected Assists | 0.12 | 38th |
| Successful Passes | 21.8 | 37th |
| Successful Dribbles | 1.15 | 55th |
Additionally, his underlying numbers from a creative standpoint are poor, and he puts up next to nothing defensively – which won’t run in an Arteta team.
Arsenal already have too many number tens
Possibly the most pertinent reason for not signing Rogers is that Arsenal already have an excess of players in his position. This is said to be a concern for those within the North London club, who don’t view the addition as particularly necessary.
Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, Max Dowman and Ethan Nwaneri are already in Arteta’s squad, and the four likely can’t coexist. It’s very possible that Nwaneri is pushed out of the door this summer because of this.
There is no reason to sign Rogers when you already have three players in this position, while Eze is arguably a similar player. If Rogers were to arrive, Eze may be left somewhat redundant.
