Arsenal Transfers: 4 wingers the Gunners should target this summer

In Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, Arsenal are blessed with a pair of young wingers that the entire continent covet.

So, what’s the need to sign another wide player this summer, I hear you ask?

Last season, Nicolas Pepe’s inability to perform his function to Mikel Arteta’s standards meant that Saka was run into the ground down Arsenal’s right. It was a brilliant season for the England international, who scored 11 times in the Premier League, but he burned out towards the very end of the campaign.

If Saka is to reach superstardom, he can ill afford to put as much strain on the body as he did in 2021/22.

Martinelli, meanwhile, has already endured a long-term knee injury and he shouldn’t be relied upon to play week in, week out at his young age which, admittedly, he wasn’t last season as Emile Smith Rowe often filled in down the left. 

4 wingers Arsenal should target this summer

Some will be concerned that the addition of another winger, one that’ll compete for serious minutes, could thwart the respective developments of the aforementioned duo. But such a signing is necessary if Arsenal are to build on a promising 2021/22 season.

Young Brazilian Marquinhos isn’t likely to be ready for first-team action right away, so the Gunners could do with a high-profile arrival. Once again, ambipedality and versatility are two key attributes that Arteta will be looking for. Here are four options.

1. Moussa Diaby

Moussa Diaby is just brilliant, isn’t he? This would be a dream signing for Arsenal.

After he was sold by PSG in 2019, Diaby has excelled in a variety of systems under several managers at Bayer Leverkusen. He initially played a secondary role to Kai Havertz when Peter Bosz was in charge, and Florian Wirtz’s brilliance which manifested more frequently in the wake of Havertz’s departure meant that Diaby’s consistency went under the radar.

But a long-term injury to Wirtz thrust Diaby into the limelight last season and he responded by notching 25 goal contributions in 32 Bundesliga appearances.

The French international is comfortable operating as a touchline winger and a half-space creator off both flanks, such is his ambipedality and versatility. His ball-striking is excellent, while his smart movement off the ball, explosivity and directness mean he shines in the transition-heavy Bundesliga.

That would be my only concern with the 22-year-old: that he’s overly reliant on space, and a lot of it, to prosper.

Continued on the next slide…