Arsenal have identified one of RB Leipzig’s best young players as a potential signing for the summer of 2026, according to a report, which has revealed that the Gunners want him as a long-term successor to Gabriel Martinelli, but he is not the only left-winger that manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta have on their radar.
Martinelli remains an important player for Arsenal, but the Brazil international winger is not guaranteed a place in manager Arteta’s starting line-up. The left-winger has made only seven starts in the Premier League so far this season, with Leandro Trossard ahead of him in the pecking order.
The Brazilian winger, who started and scored against Wigan Athletic at the Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup on Sunday, is under contract at Arsenal until the summer of 2027, with an option for a further year.
Once described as “the talent of the century” by former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Martinelli has been linked with a 2026 summer move to Barcelona.
According to Fussball Daten, Arsenal have already identified a potential replacement for Martinelli, and it is RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande.
The report has claimed that Arsenal view the 19-year-old Ivory Coast international winger ‘as a high-profile potential successor to Gabriel Martinelli’.
Leipzig value Diomande at €100million (£87m, $118.6m), a claim backed by transfer journalist Dean Jones in FlashScore and Bild reporter Christian Falk on his website, CFBayernInsider.
Sources have told our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, that there is interest in Diomande from Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, too.
We understand that the Red Bull Group believe that Diomande could be the greatest signing in their history.
The teenager has been on the books of Leipzig since the summer of 2025 and is under contract at the German club until the summer of 2030.
Described as a “speedster” on Leipzig’s official website in November 2025, Diomande has scored nine goals and given six assists in 24 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit so far this season.
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Arsenal want Antonio Nusa too – report
Diomande, who is able to play on the right flank as well as on the left flank, is not the only winger that Arsenal are looking at as a potential long-term replacement for Martinelli.
Fussball Daten also reported last week Arsenal’s interest in signing Antonio Nusa from RB Leipzig.
Nusa has been playing as a left-winger for Leipzig, whose value could rise up to €90m (£78.2m, $106.8m) if he does well for Norway at the 2026 World Cup finals this summer.
Arsenal are said to have frequently scouted RB Leipzig games to follow Nusa in action.
The 20-year-old has scored three goals and given three assists in 23 appearances for Leipzig so far this season.