Arsenal will sign their next superstar winger this week - Fabrizio Romano

Updated: 2 Sept 2026 15:39 BST | 4 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

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Arsenal failed to sign a marquee left-winger during the transfer window, but a reinforcement for the future is on the way.

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The Gunners went into the summer with the clear priority of signing an upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli, yet they have arguably come away from the transfer period with a weakened squad.

That's certainly the case for the left wing. With Leandro Trossard having been sold to Besiktas and Martinelli currently in Saudi Arabia to complete a move to Al-Hilal, Arsenal's only specialist left-winger is new signing Christos Tzolis.

The former Club Brugge man enjoyed a good start to the season - until he was hooked at half-time against Aston Villa on Monday - but this is a lot of responsibility to place on a player who has yet to consistently impress in the Premier League.

Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke can help out on the left wing, too, but Mikel Arteta is only a couple of injuries away from being left shorthanded in the attack, particularly on the left.

Arsenal to sign Bartishvili

It will be little consolation to Arsenal supporters who fear that their team has regressed, but the club are at least planning for the future, and they may have found their next superstar winger in Andria Bartishvili.

The young Georgian can play out wide and centrally and is regarded as his country's biggest talent since PSG sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Bartishvili is en route to London to complete his transfer, according to Fabrizio Romano.

An agreement with the 17-year-old's parent club, Kolkheti, was reached last week, with Arsenal agreeing to pay a €4.5 million fee. Bartishvili will formally complete the paperwork for his transfer this week and then return to Georgia.

The youngster is currently on loan at Iberia 1999 and will remain with them at least until the end of the calendar year. He turns 18 next March and will then be able to actually relocate to the UK and join Arsenal's academy setup.

The driving force behind Arsenal's deal to sign the Georgian has been Maurizio Micheli, the former Napoli chief scout who is now the right-hand man of sporting director Andrea Berta and who brought Kvaratskhelia to Italy in 2022.