Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is a huge admirer of Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rogers and is plotting a summer transfer swoop.
Morgan Rogers has already told Mikel Arteta and Arsenal exactly what they want to hear as the Gunners plot a summer transfer swoop for the England international. The 23-year-old has shone at Aston Villa since joining from Middlesbrough, becoming a fully fledged England international and winning the Europa League earlier this month.
Rogers scored the third goal in Villa’s 3-0 win over Freiburg, securing the club’s return to the Champions League next season. The midfielder is one of the Premier League’s most sought after talents and football.london understands Arsenal hold an interest in the playmaker.
Arteta is a big admirer of the former Manchester City youngster, given his versatility to play off the left-hand side of the pitch, or through the middle.
Arsenal have been linked with an £80m move for Rogers and are hopeful of pulling off some high profile signings this summer, but know they’ll have to offload some stars in order to do so.
Rogers has had quite the rise in recent seasons, from a loan spell with Lincoln City in League One, to joining Middlesbrough in the Championship and then to Villa.
The midfielder has cited a game against Arsenal as the game he felt he belonged at the top level in English football, which is exactly what Arteta will want to hear.
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“Probably the Arsenal game at the start of last season was the big one for me,” Rogers told The Athletic in the build-up to Villa’s Europa League win over Freiburg.
“I was playing against some of the best players in the world and Arsenal were competing for the title.
“They were players I watched on television when I was in the Championship or in League One. Being able to match them toe-to-toe, physically, with and without the ball, I just got that feeling: ‘Yeah, I can do this’.
“I had been at Villa for six months and I did OK when I first came into the team, but you need that one moment; that one feeling on the pitch of when you know you can compete at that level.
“The step up is actually a big jump, and it can take a while. But that was the game where I felt like I deserved to be here.”
It would be a real statement of intent from the Gunners to bolster their attack with Rogers, having ended their two decade long wait for a Premier League title.
Arsenal are preparing for the Champions League final against PSG this weekend and will be hoping they can follow in Aston Villa’s footsteps and win a European crown.
