Arsenal's Forward Line Strategy: Barcola and Alvarez Targets
Leandro Trossard’s departure to Besiktas has done more than clear a space in Arsenal’s squad. It has lit up a question in neon over north London: what, exactly, does Mikel Arteta want his forward line to look like for the next phase of this project?
The Belgian, so often a source of timely goals last season, has been allowed to move on. Gabriel Martinelli, once the symbol of Arsenal’s fearless youth revolution, now finds his own future under the microscope. A sale is firmly on the table as the club looks to raise funds and open up room for what they hope will be decisive upgrades in attack ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Arteta has already built a title-winning side. The next step is clear: dominate England, and finally carry that authority into Europe.
Barcola on the radar
That ambition is why the name Bradley Barcola will not go away around the Emirates.
The PSG winger announced himself to a global audience at the World Cup, shining for France alongside Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise. He then twisted the knife into Arsenal’s European dreams, playing his part as PSG claimed back-to-back Champions League titles and shut the door on the Gunners’ hopes in 2025-26.
He did it on the grandest stage, and he did it at Arsenal’s expense. That tends to leave a mark.
Yet Barcola is not even a guaranteed starter in Paris. Competition is brutal: Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are all jostling for the same attacking slots. At 23, Barcola is under contract at Parc des Princes until 2028, but that has not stopped talk that serious offers this summer would at least be heard.
Arsenal, long proud of their French connection, are being urged to test that resolve.
Mikael Silvestre, who knows both PSG’s culture and Arsenal’s expectations, sees the fit as obvious. Speaking to GOAL, the former defender did not hesitate when asked if Barcola would be a smart addition to Arteta’s champions. For Silvestre, the winger’s age, his impact with PSG and France, and Arsenal’s current trajectory all point in one direction: a move that suits both player and club as they chase another title and a first Champions League crown.
Premier League tug-of-war
Arsenal, though, are not alone in circling.
Liverpool are quietly plotting life after Mohamed Salah and need a wide forward capable of carrying both goals and responsibility at Anfield. Manchester United, back in the Champions League and desperate for more cutting edge, are in the same market.
Old Trafford voices are already pushing the case. Dwight Yorke, speaking to GOAL, namechecked Barcola and Desire Doue as exactly the type of versatile attackers United should be targeting. His logic was blunt: both can play on either flank, both can adapt to whatever the attack needs, and both bring the kind of output United’s frontline has too often lacked.
Yorke even framed them as the answer if Marcus Rashford’s future drifts into doubt. If the homegrown star does not fully commit, he argued, United should simply pivot and move aggressively for one of the French talents.
Arsenal know what that means. Wait too long, and someone else will move first.
Alvarez: the marquee option
While Barcola would sharpen the wide areas, Arsenal are also weighing a very different kind of signing: a statement centre-forward.
Julian Alvarez, now at Atletico Madrid after his Manchester City spell, has emerged as a serious name on their list. Fresh from appearing in the 2026 World Cup final alongside Lionel Messi, Alvarez fell just short of a second global title with Argentina, but his influence for the national team has only grown.
Silvestre did not hold back in his assessment. For him, only Messi has had a greater impact for Argentina in recent years. That is the calibre of player Arsenal are considering as a partner – or rival – for Viktor Gyökeres at the tip of their attack.
Any deal would be enormous. Atletico could demand around £120 million for a forward who has carried a heavy load in Spain and shown he can press, link play and finish at the highest level. There is a complication, though. Silvestre pointed to Alvarez’s loyalty and questioned whether the striker is ready to walk away from Atletico’s fight for trophies, even if that fight has often ended in frustration.
Yet the performances are there. The numbers, the work rate, the big-game pedigree. For a club aiming not just to retain the Premier League but to finally conquer Europe, those qualities are exactly what they lack.
Arsenal have cleared space. They are ready to spend. The only question now is whether they push their chips towards Barcola, Alvarez, or both—and how bold they are prepared to be while their rivals are reaching for the same cards.
