Arsenal are leading Manchester City and Chelsea in the race to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa this summer, according to reports.
The Gunners were crowned Premier League champions last season as Mikel Arteta guided them to their first title in 22 years.
Arsenal have been boosted by the extra revenue gained from winning the Premier League and reaching the Champions League final, which they lost 4-3 on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite their excellent season under Arteta, there is still room for improvement at Arsenal with the Gunners’ attack one area which could see new signings.
Aston Villa attacker Rogers has been identified as a top target with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli linked with potential moves away from the Emirates Stadium.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed last week that Arsenal are still very interested in Rogers, he explained: “I keep mentioning Morgan Rogers as the number one, two and three target for Arsenal.
“They want to go for him. They made very good progress on the player’s side, so Arsenal are working hard on a deal to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.
“They are in conversations; they are in negotiations. The deal is absolutely on! So, Morgan Rogers to Arsenal is a really concrete story on the player’s side.
“Then there is the club-to-club side, and obviously, it’s going to take some time before we know how the negotiations will progress, how much Arsenal will offer, how much Aston Villa want.
“It’s still early stages between clubs, but it’s advancing on the player’s side. There is no doubt he’s the player wanted by Mikel Arteta.
“He’s the player seen as the top, top target, so they are ready to make a big investment on Morgan Rogers.
“The player is also very tempted by this possibility to go to Arsenal. The project is ambitious.
“They won the Premier League last season, Champions League finalists till the penalties, so the feeling is very good between Morgan Rogers and Arsenal.
“Now, it’s on closing this agreement between the clubs. The conversations again will continue very soon, but I expect Arsenal to focus this summer, the beginning of the summer transfer window, on Morgan Rogers.”
Arsenal ‘believe they are leading the race to sign’ Rogers
And now our colleagues at TEAMtalk have revealed that Arsenal ‘believe they are leading the race to sign’ Rogers this summer after the Gunners ‘accelerated their plans for Rogers’.
It is understood that ‘confidence is growing in North London that they can beat Chelsea and Manchester City’ to the signing of the England international this summer.
Arsenal have ‘already informed Rogers’ camp that they are prepared to make a huge financial commitment to secure his signature’ with the Aston Villa attacker set to cost in excess of £100m.
And TEAMtalk insist that it is Arsenal head coach Arteta who has been pushing to get the signing of the England internaitonal over the line.
The report adds: ‘Sources have told us that the Arsenal boss has been heavily involved in the pursuit, making it clear to both the club’s hierarchy and the player’s representatives just how highly he rates the 23-year-old.’