Arsenal's Forward Line Rebuild: Barcola and Alvarez on the Radar
Leandro Trossard’s departure from Arsenal to Besiktas felt like more than a routine sale. It was a signal. Mikel Arteta is reshaping his forward line again, and nobody in those wide attacking areas can assume they are safe.
Gabriel Martinelli, once the symbol of Arsenal’s new era of intensity and fearlessness, now finds his own future under the microscope. Arsenal are open to a sale if the right offer lands. Not because he has failed, but because the club see an opportunity: clear wages, clear space, and bring in a different calibre of weapon for a team that expects to fight for everything in 2026-27, at home and in Europe.
And that is where Bradley Barcola’s name refuses to go away.
Barcola on the radar
Barcola didn’t just catch the eye at the World Cup. He lit up France’s attack alongside Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise, then returned to club duty and helped crush Arsenal’s Champions League hopes, playing his part in Paris Saint-Germain’s back-to-back European crowns.
He knows what it is to operate under the brightest lights. He has already hurt Arsenal on the biggest stage. Now some inside the game believe he should be doing that damage in red and white.
Yet, for all his impact, Barcola is not nailed on in Luis Enrique’s starting XI. PSG’s attacking depth is brutal: Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – all jostling for the same spaces, the same minutes, the same spotlight. At 23, with a contract running only to 2028, he sits in that dangerous sweet spot for a selling club. Valuable, but not untouchable.
Tempting bids will be heard. And Arsenal, a club with a long and successful history of turning French talent into icons, are being pushed to test PSG’s resolve.
Mikaël Silvestre, who knows both clubs and the demands of north London, did not hesitate when asked if Barcola fits Arteta’s title-winning squad. Speaking to GOAL, he called it “an obvious choice for both the player and the club,” backing the move “100%” on the strength of Barcola’s work for PSG and France, his age, and Arsenal’s ambition to retain the Premier League and finally crack the Champions League.
It is a strong endorsement, and it lands at a time when Arsenal’s left side is under review.
Premier League tug-of-war
Arsenal, though, are not alone in circling. The Premier League’s elite can all see the same thing: a versatile wide forward entering his prime, battle-tested in Europe, and potentially available.
Liverpool need to plan for life after Mohamed Salah. Manchester United are back in the Champions League and desperate for more punch in the final third. Both have been linked with Barcola. Both know that if they hesitate, someone else will move first.
Former United striker Dwight Yorke has already drawn up his own shortlist for Old Trafford. In his eyes, it is simple: Bradley Barcola or Desire Doue. Either would do. Both can play left, both can play right, both can shift across the front line as required. For a club wrestling with Marcus Rashford’s uncertain future, Yorke’s message is blunt – if Rashford does not commit, go and get one of them.
That is the market Arsenal are operating in now. One misstep, one delay, and a key target walks into a rival’s dressing room instead.
Alvarez: the marquee question
Barcola is not the only name being whispered around London Colney. Arsenal are also weighing up a far bigger swing: a move for Julian Alvarez.
Fresh from another World Cup final alongside Lionel Messi, the Argentina forward has carried his form into club football. Now at Atletico Madrid, he remains one of the most complete forwards in Europe – pressing, linking play, scoring, and shining on the biggest occasions. Any deal would be enormous. Atletico could demand around £120 million for a player who still feels like he has another level to climb.
Silvestre sees the appeal. Below Messi in the Argentina pecking order, Alvarez has been “the most impactful” for the national team, he argues. The problem is not talent. The problem is prising him away from a club where loyalty and stubbornness are baked into the walls.
Atletico do not fold easily. Alvarez does not look like a player agitating to leave. Yet his performances this season have only strengthened the belief that he would transform any forward line he joins – including one that already boasts Viktor Gyökeres as a central reference point.
Imagine that pairing: Gyökeres stretching defences, Alvarez knitting everything together and arriving to finish moves, Barcola or a similar wide threat driving at full-backs. That is the kind of front line that does more than retain a title. It terrifies Europe.
Arsenal at a crossroads
To get there, Arsenal must make hard calls. Letting Trossard go was one. Deciding whether to cash in on Martinelli could be another. The club cannot keep everyone and still bring in the upgrades they clearly want.
Arteta and the hierarchy have shown they are willing to be ruthless if it means elevating the collective level. The 2026 summer window will test that resolve again. Do they double down on players who brought them this far, or pivot towards a new wave of attackers to carry them the final step?
Barcola. Alvarez. Names that define a window, and maybe a season.
If Arsenal move decisively now, they shape the Premier League’s attacking landscape for years. If they hesitate, they may spend just as long chasing the firepower they allowed to slip away.
