Arsenal transfer news: Gunners ‘preparing bid’ for World Cup goalscorer as Mikel Arteta’s ‘main priority’ become clear

By Oliver Thomas | 18 Jun 2026 13:50, Last updated: 18 Jun 2026 17:32

Arsenal ‘preparing bid’ for World Cup goalscorer as Arteta’s ‘main priority’ become clear

Arsenal are reportedly preparing to submit an offer for Paris Saint-Germain attacker Bradley Barcola this summer.

The Gunners ended their 22-year wait for top-flight glory when the clinched the Premier League title last month, before losing to PSG on penalties in the Champions League final.

Head coach Mikel Arteta is keen to bolster his squad and will work closely with sporting director Andrea Berta to build a team capable of maintaining their position at the summit of English football.

The Independent claims that Arteta’s ‘main priority’ is to elevate the level of his attack and PSG star Barcola has been identified as a ‘realistic’ target this summer.

The report adds that the Gunners are currently looking into the necessary details before lodging a formal bid for Barcola, who has also been tracked closely by Liverpool.

As things stand, PSG’s preference would be to keep hold of Barcola, who still has two years remaining on his contract at the Parc des Princes.

Barcola could leave PSG this summer amid Arsenal interest

It had previously been reported that Luis Enrique’s side regarded Barcola as an ‘untouchable’ player, seemingly ending Arsenal’s hopes of signing the Frenchman.

However, it is now understood that the Ligue 1 champions are also open to reshaping the attack themselves, as they hold an interest in two existing Arsenal targets in Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez and Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.

Barcola has spent the last three years at PSG since joining from Lyon in 2023 and has made 152 first-team appearances for the Parisian giants across all competitions, recording 39 goals and 37 assists.

The versatile attacker finished the 2025-26 season as PSG’s top scorer in Ligue 1 with 11 goals, while he also found the net on his World Cup debut for France in their 3-1 group-stage win over Senegal at the 2026 tournament last weekend.

At the age of 23 years and 287 days, Barcola became the youngest Frenchman to score on his World Cup debut since Thierry Henry (20 years, 299 days) in June 1998.

If Arsenal wish to sign Barcola this summer, they may have to fork out in excess of £100m to prise him away from PSG – the Gunners’ club-record transfer stands at £105m spent on Declan Rice in 2023.