Fabrizio Romano reveals Arsenal's new transfer priority: Major signing 'expected'

23 Sept 2026 18:03 BST | 4 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

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Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed how Mikel Arteta plans to take Arsenal to another level in 2027.

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The Gunners have become the gold standard of the Premier League, which will see the manager rewarded with a bumper new contract that is expected to run until 2030.

Aside from the Spaniard, Arsenal will also continue tying their key players down to fresh terms. On Tuesday, FootballTransfers revealed that an agreement with Declan Rice over a new deal is imminent, while defender Ben White could also receive a new contract.

Compared

Declan Rice

M, DM (C)

Arsenal

Declan Rice

M, DM (C)

Arsenal

VS

Ben White

D (R)

Arsenal

Ben White

D (R)

Arsenal

€93M	ETV	€25.1M
€83.7M - €102.3M	ETV Range	€22.6M - €27.6M
27 years old (14 Jan, 1999)	Age	28 years old (08 Oct, 1997)
England	Nationality	England

As for incomings, Arsenal don't have too many holes to plug. They look well-stocked in most departments, except perhaps for the left wing. In the summer, they failed to make a marquee signing in that position, only bringing in Christos Tzolis.

On the face of it, rectifying this should be the North London club's most important objective for 2027, but that may not actually be the case. According to Romano, Arsenal's biggest priority next year will be a different position.

Arsenal to sign a striker in 2027

Speaking on his podcast, the Italian revealed that Arsenal will look to strengthen at centre-forward next year, potentially as early as January but most likely in the summer. In fact, Romano fully "expects" a signing to be made in that position.

"Arsenal are still looking at strikers, that's the reality," Romano explained. "They are considering options, looking at options. I would not call that something imminent or huge because Arsenal are very happy with the strikers they have. Arsenal are scoring a lot of goals.

"So, at the moment, they are quite happy and relaxed, I would say, with the options they have at the striker position. Then, if you ask me for 2027, striker is an area where they want cover. I expect to do something.

"If it's not going to be in January, it might be in the summer transfer window. The timing, we will see. It's too early now, it's still September, but Arsenal are looking at the striker as the next priority for Mikel Arteta."

Regarding possible targets, Romano confirmed that Arsenal are admirers of Bournemouth youngster Eli Kroupi. "Let's see what kind of strikers are going to be available in 2027," he said.

"For example, Kroupi at Bournemouth is a player who was on the list at Barcelona, Arsenal, Man City, PSG - several clubs wanted him. Let's see if Arsenal will go back into conversations for him or not.

"There are several names Arsenal are considering. Arsenal will explore all the options because I expect a new striker, most likely in the summer transfer window."

What does this mean for Gyokeres?

Naturally, Arsenal's desire to sign a new centre-forward raises questions about the long-term future of Viktor Gyokeres, who has struggled for game time in the early stages of this new campaign after a mixed first season at the Emirates.

According to Romano, "top, top clubs from Spain" approached Arsenal for the Sweden international already this summer. At the time, the Gunners' stance was that he was not for sale because they were unable to sign Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez as a replacement.

That stance may change in 2027, with Romano confirming that Gyokeres is not considered "untouchable" by the club hierarchy. If a suitable offer materialises next year, Arsenal could be tempted to cash in on the 28-year-old.