Arsenal's Summer Transfer Plans: Christos Tzolis and Marcus Rashford
Arsenal’s summer planning is beginning to take shape, and the wide positions are right at the heart of it.
A move for Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis is already in motion, the 24-year-old Greece international viewed as a live option to bolster Mikel Arteta’s attacking depth. Tzolis knows English football from his time at Norwich, a useful detail for a club that cannot afford a long bedding-in period as it defends its Premier League crown and juggles another Champions League campaign.
Yet Tzolis alone will not answer every question. Arsenal want numbers, but they also want certainty. A more seasoned forward could still arrive alongside him.
And that is where Marcus Rashford’s name refuses to go away.
Rashford on the radar
The 28-year-old Manchester United forward has become a magnet for speculation as his future at Old Trafford hangs in the balance. Last season’s loan spell at Barcelona brought La Liga glory and a return of 14 goals in all competitions, a reminder of the damage he can inflict when the environment suits him.
Swapping the champions of Spain for the champions of England would be a storyline to match any in the window. Arsenal, fresh from ending a 22-year wait for a league title, are building not just for another domestic charge but for a sustained tilt on multiple fronts. That demands a bench that looks like a starting XI.
Yet not everyone is convinced Rashford is the obvious upgrade.
Aliadiere’s warning
Speaking to GOAL on behalf of Wiz Slots, former Arsenal forward Jeremie Aliadiere cut through the hype with a blunt assessment.
“Good option,” he said of Rashford as a potential signing, before quickly steering into the caveats. The upside is obvious: “The good thing with Marcus Rashford, he knows the league. He's British, comes from the academy at Man United, so he knows what it is and how it feels to deal with the pressure.”
That knowledge of the Premier League and the scrutiny that comes with it is not something you can buy off the shelf. Arsenal’s title defence will be played under a harsher spotlight than anything this squad has experienced together. Rashford has lived in that glare for a decade.
Yet Aliadiere did not gloss over the inconsistency that has defined Rashford’s recent years at United.
“When you look at his last few seasons at Man United, it's been a lot of up and down as well for different reasons,” he said. “So do you feel, letting Trossard go and getting Rashford, is that really a guaranteed better level, guaranteed success and better return on the investment? I don't know. I'm not sure about it. I can't say that.”
That comparison with Leandro Trossard cuts to the heart of Arsenal’s dilemma. Trossard has delivered quietly but decisively, often from the fringes.
“I know they are different players,” Aliadiere continued, “but I just think Trossard, the goals that he came up with and the important goals that he scored - that goal at West Ham last year, this is the goal that got us through the line.”
Those moments shape seasons. Letting a proven match-winner leave only makes sense if the replacement hits the ground sprinting, not jogging.
“You've got to make sure you replace them with players that are going to deliver straight away,” Aliadiere warned. “And Rashford lately has been, like I said, up and down. He can have some unbelievable games, but some games where he's not there either.”
Would Rashford even start?
That is the other hard question. For all Rashford’s profile, there is no guarantee he walks into Arteta’s strongest XI.
“So you just think, is that what the champion of England wants to get? I don't know,” Aliadiere said. “But when you see the quality and the number of great players Arsenal have got, maybe Marcus Rashford will come and not even start straight away anyway. Because when you see there's Martinelli still there. You just don't know.”
Gabriel Martinelli remains a cornerstone of Arsenal’s left side, and the squad is already stacked with forwards who expect to play, not watch. Any high-profile arrival will be joining a fight, not claiming a throne.
Aliadiere suspects that is exactly how Arteta wants it.
“I'm not sure Mikel is just looking for someone to come in to be the number one,” he added. “He's looking for great players that can come in and then fight for their position. And whoever's the best and trains the best will play at the weekend.”
That is the reality Rashford would walk into: no guarantees, no promises, just a straight contest in a champion’s dressing room. The question now is whether Arsenal decide that this version of Rashford is worth that gamble – and whether he is ready to stake his reputation on winning that fight.
