Marquinhos and Nicolas Pépé have returned from respective loan deals at Norwich City and OGC Nice, joining Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson in a talented Arsenal attack, but Fabrizio Romano said in his Caught Offside column that the Gunners may not be finished in the transfer market this summer.
Alex Crook of talkSPORT said in May that Arsenal were interested in signing Ferran Torres as his Barcelona future was uncertain and there have been more recent reports suggesting he’s still on Arteta’s radar, but Romano doesn’t believe they’ll return for the 23-year-old. He hasn’t heard anything concrete that suggests Arsenal will lodge a bid, likely due to the options Mikel Arteta already has in the first-team.
Romano wrote: ‘I’m aware of some other Arsenal rumours doing the rounds, with some reports that Ferran Torres could leave Barcelona, possibly on loan. I’m not currently aware of anything concrete on that. Barcelona would be open to discussing this in case of big proposals but nothing has happened as of now, it’s very quiet.’
That’s not to say Torres isn’t a talented player, however. The Spanish international boasts 15 goals from 35 games for his country, but he’s not managed to replicate such form at club level. Torres has scored only 14 goals with nine assists from 71 appearances since joining Barcelona from Manchester City in 2022.
Torres scored four goals in 33 league games last season, starting only 14 times after falling behind Raphinha the pecking order. He had more bookings (5) than goals in the top-flight and had to share playing time with Ousmane Dembélé and Ansu Fati. Barcelona paid €55m (£47m) for Torres but are willing to sell him for £35m.
Arsenal scored 88 goals in the Premier League, so they might feel they have enough options in attack without signing another forward. Torres isn’t an improvement on Saka, Martinelli or Trossard, and Arteta will be content with having Nelson as backup, so it’s little wonder Romano hasn’t heard anything that suggests a deal is on the horizon.
The Gunners could do with a centre-forward to take the scoring burden off Gabriel Jesus, as Eddie Nketiah wasn’t very prolific when deputising for the 26-year-old last season, but they don’t need another wide option unless Arteta sanctions a mass exodus in Torres’ position.
