Missed out on Vinicius Junior & Bradley Barcola! Arsenal ‘superstar’ transfer prediction as ex-Gunners winger admits Premier League champions ‘are weaker’

Viktor Gyokeres was acquired as a big-money striker 12 months ago, with the Sweden international being charged with the task of solving the long-standing No.9 riddle in north London. He registered 21 goals across his debut campaign, but is not a guaranteed starter.

Leandro Trossard chipped in with some vital efforts last season, but has since moved on to Besiktas. Gabriel Martinelli, meanwhile, has linked up with Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League after bringing his seven-year stint at Arsenal to a close.

There was talk of the Gunners sniffing around Vini Jr as he delayed the signing of a new contract at Real Madrid, but the Brazilian forward remains a ‘Galactico’ at Santiago Bernabeu.

Champions League winner Barcola did hit the market as exit doors opened up at Paris Saint-Germain, with Arsenal asking questions of what it would take to get a deal done. Having been informed that his price tag was £123 million ($166m), Arteta and Co walked away as Liverpool swept in.

The Gunners have plenty of talent at their disposal, but the left side of their attack - where Christos Tzolis is now operating - remains an obvious area that could be upgraded. Purse strings have been loosened in more recent times, so Arteta should have a healthy war chest with which to work.

Asked if he expects Arsenal to sign a “superstar” left winger, Pennant - who was speaking in association with NetBet Casino - told GOAL: “They have to at some point because teams are not going to sit dormant.

“Teams around them are not going to not strengthen in those areas. Come January, I'm sure the likes of Chelsea, Man United, Liverpool and Man City are going to go in the market again and strengthen again. So they have to.

“And this is weird saying, but I think they've actually got weaker. I think Arsenal are weaker, especially going forward anyway, than they were last season. Because they've lost some really clutch individuals.

“I think without Trossard they probably wouldn't have won the league. The West Ham goal, you could go on with the important goals he scored - Aston Villa. Then they've lost Martinelli, yeah, his number's dwindled but again it's still a good impact player you can bring off the bench. They've lost him.

“And they've not really replaced that apart from Tzolis. So if he gets injured or whatnot, their left side's kind of doomed. You’ve got to put [Eberechi] Eze out there, he's not a winger, he's a midfielder.

“Yes, they’ve strengthened at the back. So I think going forward they definitely need to strengthen. Because they've probably fallen out of favour with Gyokeres and they've reverted back to [Kai] Havertz, who was never really their 15, 20-goal-a-season guy.”

Havertz has been leading the line for Arsenal at the start of the 2026-27 campaign, with Gyokeres having to make peace with an impact role off the bench. Club captain Martin Odegaard has rediscovered his spark, in a playmaking post, while Bukayo Saka has two goals to his name.

Having been faultless through three Premier League fixtures and a Champions League opener against Napoli, Arteta will argue that he has all the tools he needs in which to build more trophy challenges. That left flank may, however, be addressed again at some point.