Arsenal's Next Left Winger: Targets After Vinícius Júnior

Arsenal shot for the moon with Vinícius Júnior. They missed. Now the real work begins.

For a few days this summer, the Premier League champions flirted with the idea of ripping one of Real Madrid’s crown jewels out of the Bernabéu. Vinícius was stalling on a new deal, Arsenal were watching closely, and the numbers being whispered around the corridors at London Colney were the sort that usually only Madrid, City or PSG entertain.

Then reality bit. Vinícius signed on again in Spain, Morgan Rogers went to Chelsea, and another target, Bradley Barcola, started edging towards Liverpool. The dream of a superstar for the left flank vanished. The need did not.

Christos Tzolis has arrived from Club Brugge to replace Leandro Trossard, but he is a project as much as a solution. Gabriel Martinelli, for all his big moments, still divides opinion among supporters and seemingly hasn’t fully convinced Mikel Arteta. If Arsenal want to defend their title with the same ferocity they used to win it, that left side needs another serious option.

So where do they turn now?

Kenan Yildiz – The Del Piero Disciple

If Arsenal want a winger who already carries the weight of a giant club on his shoulders, Kenan Yildiz is the obvious starting point.

Juventus missed out on the Champions League last season and may have to sacrifice a jewel to reset the books. Yildiz fits that bill. He delivered 20 goal involvements in 47 games in 2025-26 (11 goals, 9 assists) and wrote his name into club history along the way.

Before turning 21, he became only the second Juventus player in the last half-century to score at least five goals in the first 15 Serie A games of a season. The other? His hero, Alessandro Del Piero. He then went on to become the first non-Italian to hit double figures for Juve in Serie A before 21, the first anyone had done it since Roberto Bettega in 1970-71.

This is not a kid padding numbers in a mid-table side. This is a young star driving a fallen giant.

He’s unpredictable on the ball. Yildiz prefers his right foot but will happily finish with his left, attempting 73 shots with his right and 23 with his left in Serie A last season. Defenders have no easy read on him when he squares them up.

And he doesn’t just shoot. He creates. Only Bruno Fernandes (98) and Romano Schmid (77) fashioned more open-play chances than Yildiz (67) across Europe’s top five leagues last season. Only Vinícius (43) produced more chance-creating carries than his 37.

If Arsenal want someone who already behaves like a Champions League winger, even if he’s not in the competition, Yildiz is as close as it gets.

Nico Williams – The Line-Breaking Livewire

Nico Williams has become the default answer to any club’s “we need a left winger” question. Arsenal are no exception.

He is tied to Athletic Club until 2035, a contract that screams “you’ll have to pay properly to take him.” But Arsenal have already proved they can tempt Basque loyalty, prising Martín Zubimendi away last summer.

Williams’ 2025-26 season was fragmented by injury, yet he still posted six goals and three assists in 25 La Liga games. His impact went far beyond that. After missing the start of the World Cup, he came off the bench for Spain and delivered one of the defining moments of his career so far: a deft header to set up Ferran Torres for the only goal of the final against Argentina.

His profile fits the way Arsenal attack. Williams averaged 8.2 dribbles per 90 in La Liga; only Lamine Yamal, Kevin and Jérémy Doku attempted more across Europe’s top five leagues. He also averaged 7.7 touches in the opposition box per 90, with only a dozen wingers in those leagues touching the ball more often in such dangerous areas.

He stretches games, isolates full-backs and forces backlines to retreat. That €90m release clause is steep, but not outrageous for a player who can tilt the pitch on his own.

Abde Ezzalzouli – Chaos, Fouls and Forward Thrust

If Arsenal want a winger who brings a bit of chaos and a lot of territory, Abde Ezzalzouli – Ez Abde – is a compelling option.

At Real Betis last season, the former Barcelona man produced 18 goal involvements in 29 La Liga matches (10 goals, 8 assists), a return bettered by only six players in the division as Betis clinched a Champions League place.

He missed the World Cup through injury, a brutal blow for a Morocco international who thrives on big stages. That kind of frustration often fuels the next step in a career.

Abde is not Vinícius, but he plays with a similar relentlessness. He wins fouls, he carries the ball long distances, he drags teams up the pitch. Only four players in La Liga won more fouls than his 71 last season. Only 10 averaged more long progressive carries per 90 than his 5.7, defined as carries that move the ball at least 10 metres upfield.

For a team as dangerous from set pieces as Arsenal, a winger who constantly draws contact around the box has obvious value.

Mika Godts – The Eredivisie Firecracker

Mika Godts might already be halfway to Paris, with PSG circling as they eye a replacement for Barcola. But this is the summer of hijacks, and PSG’s reluctance to meet Ajax’s demands leaves a sliver of daylight.

Godts turned 21 in June and is already one of Europe’s most exciting young wingers. Quick feet, fearless dribbling, and, crucially, end product.

In the Eredivisie last season, he produced 30 goal involvements (17 goals, 13 assists). Across Europe’s top 10 leagues, only five players managed more. His creativity matched his finishing. Only Bruno Fernandes (98) and Arsenal’s own Tzolis (81) created more open-play chances than Godts (80) in those 10 leagues.

On the ball, he’s electric. Only Lamine Yamal (133) and Yan Diomande (118) completed more dribbles than his 87. And when he runs, he creates. Only Tzolis (44) recorded more chance-creating carries than Godts (43), a tally that equalled Vinícius’ total in two fewer games (34 vs 36).

Yes, his numbers came in the Dutch Eredivisie rather than the Premier League or La Liga. But the profile is obvious: a high-volume dribbler who both scores and lays chances on a plate.

Iliman Ndiaye – The Relentless Carrier

If there is a name that keeps circling back to Arsenal, alongside Yildiz, it is Iliman Ndiaye.

He spent most of last season on the right for Everton, but his versatility showed when he shifted left after Jack Grealish’s injury in January. Wherever he plays across the front line, he carries the ball, links play and runs at defenders.

Ndiaye finished the Premier League season with six goals and three assists in 30 games, a bright spark in a side that often struggled to progress the ball. His dribbling numbers underline that influence. Only Jérémy Doku (84) completed more dribbles than Ndiaye (73) in the Premier League.

He also brings something Arteta values highly: work without the ball. Only Bukayo Saka (27) won possession more often in the opposition final third than Ndiaye (26) in the league last season. That kind of pressing and counter-pressing intensity fits seamlessly into Arsenal’s structure.

He may not be the headline-grabbing superstar some fans crave, but he looks like an Arteta player in almost every phase.

Saïd El Mala – Goals in a Struggling Side

Saïd El Mala might be heading to Borussia Dortmund, but until a contract is signed, he remains a live name.

At just 19, he scored 13 goals in 34 Bundesliga games for an FC Köln side that laboured to 14th. That context matters. He wasn’t feasting in a dominant team; he was punching up in a struggling one.

Liverpool looked at him earlier in the summer before turning towards Barcola, which tells you how highly he is rated. The data backs that up. Only Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise (47) and Luis Díaz (41) recorded more shot-ending carries in the Bundesliga than El Mala (37). Only Olise (8) had more goal-ending carries than his 6.

He drives at goal, not just into space. For a teenager, that is a serious attacking profile.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo – The Vertical Threat

If Arsenal decide to gamble on potential rather than a fully polished product, Matias Fernandez-Pardo at Lille ticks a lot of boxes.

The 21-year-old Belgium international, preferred to Godts in his country’s World Cup squad, delivered eight goals and five assists in 29 Ligue 1 matches last season. Those are solid numbers, but his real value lies in how he moves the ball.

Only seven players in Ligue 1 recorded more long progressive carries than his 122. He doesn’t just carry for the sake of it either. He ranked seventh for shot-ending carries (26), and 13 of his chance-creating carries led to chances, three of them directly to assists.

He feels like a player on the verge of a jump. The question is whether Arsenal want to be the club that bets on that jump, or whether they crave someone who has already landed.

The Wildcards: Grealish and Rashford

Every shortlist needs a couple of names that make supporters laugh, pause, and then quietly wonder, “Actually… what if?”

Jack Grealish – Fouls, Craft and Short-Term Punch

Jack Grealish turns 31 in September. He is back at Manchester City after a loan spell at Everton that ended early through injury, and the expectation is that he moves again before the window shuts.

At Goodison, he reminded everyone he can still shape Premier League games. Two goals and six assists in 20 league appearances only tell part of the story. His 1.99 open-play chances created per 90 minutes was at least double that of any other Everton player with 1,000+ minutes.

His most intriguing weapon for Arsenal, though, is his ability to win fouls. Only Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri (3.4) drew more fouls per 90 than Grealish (3.2) in the Premier League last season. In a team that treats set pieces like a science, those free-kicks around the box become a recurring threat.

Short term? Yes. But as an outside shout, he would instantly change how teams defend Arsenal’s left side.

Marcus Rashford – Corners, Goals and a Fresh Start

Marcus Rashford to Arsenal sounds like something from a fevered transfer rumour mill. Yet the pieces, on paper, line up more neatly than you might think.

He returned to Manchester United after a relatively successful loan at Barcelona, where he scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in 49 games in all competitions. Barça chose to sign Anthony Gordon instead, leaving Rashford in limbo once again.

One detail stands out in the context of Arsenal. In La Liga, Rashford took 94 corners last season, just one fewer than Declan Rice in the Premier League (95). He delivered 23 successful corners into the box – where a teammate made first contact – two more than Rice’s 21.

For a side that already weaponises corners as ruthlessly as anyone in Europe, adding a winger who can share or even enhance that responsibility is a fascinating prospect.

Arsenal went after Vinícius Júnior and came up short, but the message that pursuit sent still echoes: they are not shopping only in the bargain aisle anymore. Whether they move for a rising star like Yildiz or Godts, a dribbling machine like Williams or Ndiaye, or one of the wildcards who would send shockwaves through the league, the next left winger they choose will say a lot about how they plan to defend their crown.

Do they double down on potential, or pay for a proven match-winner who can tilt the title race on his own?