Bradley Barcola can have 'elite transformation' at Arsenal if Mikel Arteta ends seven-year transfer drought | OneFootball

Arteta has not signed a French player as Arsenal manager

Bradley Barcola would be a “huge upgrade” on Gabriel Martinelli for Arsenal amid talk of a summer transfer.

That according to European football expert Andy Brassell, who believes the Paris Saint-Germain forward would be the perfect signing for the Premier League champions this summer.

It is no secret that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is keen to bolster his attacking options ahead of the new season, with Barcola being strongly linked along with Morgan Rogers, Julian Alvarez and Christos Tzolis.

Barcola still has two years left on his PSG contract, though reports in France have claimed the European champions would be open to a summer sale if talks over a new deal do not progress in a positive way.

“Bradley Barcola emerging as a target for Arsenal shouldn't be a huge surprise for us,” he said. “Of course, if we go back to the start of the Premier League era, or more accurately, the arrival of Arsene Wenger a couple of years after the Premier League started, Arsenal have this huge history with French players.

“They have shaped modern Arsenal.

“But if we're looking at Arsenal in the here and now, what is clear is that this summer, having come off such a brilliant season under Mikel Arteta, they're in a difficult position in that they have a few obvious areas to improve and keep them going upwards.

Of course, if we go back to the start of the Premier League era, or more accurately, the arrival of Arsene Wenger a couple of years after the Premier League started, Arsenal have this huge history with French players

Andy Brassell

“Arsenal, I think, are still in the best place when they get players and they improve them. They take players who are already As or A-minuses and transform them into elite superstars.

“And I feel that's what they can probably do with Bradley Barcola.

“Still only 23, [he’s] been at the top level for a very long time, of course. And it's been difficult for him over the last year-and-a-half at PSG.

“Now, Barcola started well at PSG, but what's been difficult for him in the last little while, of course, is the arrival of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

“With Barcola, it's not just about recruiting him and hoping he scores 15, 20, 25 [goals] in a season, although I do think he could get to that point for Arsenal.

“It's that he's someone who knows when to release the ball at the right time. So, he's got the pace, but he's also got the intelligence to make the most of the advantage that that pace gives him.

Bradley Barcola

Getty Images

"Now, we've seen him as a pinch-hitter off the bench for France, scoring that goal in the [World Cup] opener against Senegal. He would be a huge upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli as far as I'm concerned.

“As far as the signings that Arsenal should be making this summer, he's definitely, definitely a step in the right direction, especially with his contract talks still up in the air.”

Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal signed the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Samir Nasri, Laurent Koscielny, William Gallas and Patrick Vieira.

Matteo Guendouzi joined the club during Unai Emery’s brief spell in charge, but Arteta is yet to sign a French player since being appointed Gunners boss in December 2019.

In fact, the last French player to join the Arsenal senior team was William Saliba in the summer of 2019, making it a seven-year dry spell for the Gunners in this particular market.