Arsenal were linked with Vinicius Junior and Bradley Barcola during the 2026 summer transfer window, but failed to land either player. Jermaine Pennant has told GOAL that the Gunners will eventually have to bring in a superstar left winger, as he believes they have actually become “weaker” in that area. Mikel Arteta has assembled a squad capable of winning the Premier League title, but there is still scope for improvement at Emirates Stadium.

Trossard and Martinelli have both left Emirates Stadium.

Viktor Gyokeres arrived 12 months ago in a big-money move as Arsenal’s new striker, with the Sweden international tasked with solving the long-running No.9 issue in north London. He scored 21 goals in his debut season, but he is not an automatic starter.

Leandro Trossard made several important contributions last season, but has since completed a move to Besiktas. Gabriel Martinelli, meanwhile, has joined Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League after ending his seven-year stay at Arsenal.

The Gunners were also linked with Vinicius Junior and Bradley Barcola.

There was speculation that Arsenal were monitoring Vinicius Junior while he delayed signing a new contract at Real Madrid, but the Brazil forward has remained a ‘Galactico’ at Santiago Bernabeu.

Champions League winner Barcola did become available as the exit door opened at Paris Saint-Germain, and Arsenal made enquiries over what would be needed to complete a deal. However, after being told that he would cost £123 million ($166m), Arteta and the club stepped away, allowing Liverpool to move in.

Arsenal still have plenty of quality in their squad, but the left side of their attack — where Christos Tzolis is now playing — remains a clear position that could be improved. The club have shown a greater willingness to spend in recent times, so Arteta should have a sizeable transfer budget to work with.

Will Arsenal sign a superstar left winger?

When asked whether 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.”

Arteta is continuing to shape further trophy bids.

Havertz has been leading the line for Arsenal at the start of the 2026-27 season, with Gyokeres having to accept an impact role from the bench. Club captain Martin Odegaard has rediscovered his rhythm in a creative role, while Bukayo Saka has already scored two goals.

After making a flawless start across three Premier League matches and a Champions League opener against Napoli, Arteta will argue that he already has the tools required to mount more trophy challenges. Even so, that left flank could still be revisited at some stage.