Jamie Carragher has claimed that Arsenal missed a trick by not making Bradley Barcola their top transfer target after failing to land Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez.
Barcola, who has twice lifted the Champions League with PSG, made his summer switch to Liverpool for a whopping £123 million, signing a five-year deal. Arsenal had considered the French winger at the start of the transfer window, but ultimately shifted their focus elsewhere. This opened the door for Liverpool to swoop in for the 24-year-old.
Carragher highlighted that the left flank continues to be a glaring weakness in Mikel Arteta's title-winning squad. Over the past two years, Arsenal have consistently looked to strengthen this position.
Last summer, they explored options such as Rodrigo and Anthony Gordon, while this year, their primary target was Vinicius Junior. However, the Brazilian ended up extending his contract with Real Madrid.
Arteta also had his eyes on Julian Alvarez from Atletico, with Arsenal chasing the Argentine throughout the summer, even though the player favoured a move to Barcelona.
To compound their misfortunes, the Gunners parted ways with two left-wingers who contributed significantly last season: Leandro Trossard moved to Besiktas, while Gabriel Martinelli is close to joining Al-Hilal for £60 million.
In this context, Carragher believes that passing on Barcola could turn out to be a costly oversight for Arsenal.
"I'm glad it didn't happen, but I was keeping a close eye on the situation with Barcola.">
"With Arsenal, I always felt they were lacking quality on the left flank compared to Saka, Odegaard, and Havertz.
"The new lad, Tsoulis, has started well. But the longer the Barcola saga dragged on, and with Arsenal failing to sign either Vinicius Junior or Alvarez, the more I wondered: isn't Barcola the exact player they need?"
Carragher stressed that Barcola possesses the profile that he believes Arsenal requires.
Legendary Arsenal player Ian Wright echoed Carragher's sentiments, asserting that the team needed a player of Barcola's calibre. Wright pointed out that the Gunners also missed out on Morgan Rogers, who eventually signed with Chelsea.
"This is the sort of player Arsenal should have signed. He comes from an exceptional team like PSG, having played alongside world-class talent. Now he moves to Liverpool, where he becomes a superstar and can elevate his teammates to a new level.
That's the type of player we were missing. If you think Morgan Rogers could provide the same, I'd have welcomed his signing as well. But Barcola was available."
