Arsenal Urged to Pursue Bradley Barcola Amid Liverpool Interest
Arsenal are being urged to crash Liverpool’s pursuit of Bradley Barcola, with a former Gunners favourite claiming he has inside information that the PSG winger wants London – and is ready for a £100m-plus move.
The Premier League champions have already thrown down a marker this summer. Bruno Guimaraes, paraded at the Emirates on Sunday after his £75m switch from Newcastle, is the headline act in a window that has also brought in highly rated winger Christos Tzolis and French goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
Three through the door. None of them a wide forward in the Vinicius Junior bracket Arsenal had dreamt of.
That particular fantasy evaporated when the Brazilian committed to a new six-year deal at Real Madrid, shutting down any hope of a blockbuster raid on the Santiago Bernabeu. The need for another high-end attacker, though, has not gone away.
Arteta’s squad is being linked with Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Juventus talent Kenan Yildiz. Barcola sits firmly in that same bracket: young, elite, expensive – and, crucially, unsettled.
Arsenal vs Liverpool for Barcola
Liverpool have made the 23-year-old their priority to replace Mohamed Salah, preparing to go to £100m (€117m / $135m) for the France international. PSG, predictably, are pushing back. Their stance is clear: closer to £128m (€150m / $172m) or he stays.
Barcola, a two-time Champions League winner with PSG, has stalled on a new contract and is widely expected to leave the French champions. On Merseyside, they sense an opportunity. In north London, some believe Arsenal should be smelling blood.
Former Arsenal forward Perry Groves certainly does. Speaking on talkSPORT, he laid out the choice facing the winger – and, by extension, the clubs.
Asked whether Barcola would be better suited to Arsenal or Liverpool, Groves did not hesitate.
“I’ve got no dog in the fight, but I would say the Gooners because Liverpool are a team that are in transition,” he said, pointing to the arrival of Andoni Iraola, the tactical reset at Anfield and the churn of new signings.
If you are a 23-year-old Champions League regular choosing your next step, the equation looks different now. Who is closer to winning the Premier League or the Champions League in the short term? Groves’ answer was blunt: Arsenal.
The implication is obvious. If Arsenal decide to move, they walk into the race with a genuine sporting argument and a title-winning platform already in place.
And if they have already made their interest known, Groves suggested, the groundwork would be quiet but deliberate.
“So it’s whether Arsenal want to go in,” he said. “If they go in for him, then there would have been advances being made to his people.”
The subtext: Arsenal cannot afford another Vinicius-style saga where they are used as leverage and left empty-handed. This, in Groves’ eyes, is the level they now operate at – and the calibre of player they must at least attempt to sign.
Then came the line that really set ears pricking up.
“I’ve got a source that says he [Barcola] wants to live in London,” Groves added. “I can’t tell you, I can’t divulge my sources. I’ve got a source. I’ve got a mole. Barcola wants to live in London.”
If that information holds, the balance of power in this tug of war shifts sharply. Liverpool may have identified their man and readied the cheque book. Arsenal may, quite simply, have the city he prefers.
Frimpong piles on the pressure
Groves is not the only ex-Gunner calling for a move. Emmanuel Frimpong, never shy with an opinion, has also pushed Arsenal to turn their gaze towards Barcola now that the Guimaraes deal is in the bag.
“Mikel [Arteta] and the boys have finally got it over the line, which I’m very happy about,” he told Ladbrokes, reflecting the sense of satisfaction around the club after landing the Brazilian midfielder.
But he quickly raised the bar. One title is not enough. Not for this Arsenal.
“They shouldn’t just win it once and be satisfied with that,” he said. “They have to keep on winning it now and dominate just like how Man United and Man City have in the past.”
To do that, Frimpong argued, the squad still needs sharpening. He highlighted the need for “a couple of wingers and a proper number eight”, and questioned whether Declan Rice is being used in his most natural role.
“I feel like Declan Rice is playing in a position which isn’t natural to him, so we need a proper number eight alongside him,” he added.
Guimaraes, of course, ticks that box. Barcola, in Frimpong’s eyes, ticks another.
“And also Bradley Barcola… I think he would be very good for Arsenal. Barcola and Bruno Guimaraes would be a very good transfer window for Arsenal.”
The message from two former players is aligned and unmistakable: Arsenal have the title, the project, the money and, if Groves’ source is right, the city the player wants.
Liverpool remain favourites on paper, the club that has moved first and loudest. But transfers are rarely decided on one axis alone. Ambition, role, league position, lifestyle – they all crowd into the decision.
If Arsenal choose to step into this fight properly, with a concrete offer and a clear role for Barcola in Arteta’s attack, the question will not be whether they can hijack Liverpool’s move.
It will be whether they dare walk away from a winger who might be tailor-made for the next phase of their dominance.
