Arsenal were interested in a deal before Chelsea won the race (Picture: Getty) Morgan Rogers’ camp asked Arsenal to match Chelsea’s £117m transfer bid as he wanted to move to the Gunners, according to reports. Mikel Arteta identified Rogers as one of his top targets at the start of the summer and Arsenal were believed to be leading the race to secure his signature. The Premier League champions were willing to pay around £80m for Rogers, who was part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup. But Chelsea blew their London rivals out of the water with a stunning £117m deal with Aston Villa, making Rogers the most expensive British player in Premier League history. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Rogers said he was joining the ‘biggest club in London’ after switching Villa Park for Stamford Bridge but the Daily Mail says the England midfielder wanted to join Arsenal. The report adds that the player’s camp urged bosses at the Emirates Stadium to match Chelsea’s record-breaking bid as he was ‘keen’ to bolster Arteta’s title-winning squad. Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph says Rogers was ‘enthusiastic’ about joining Arteta’s project at Arsenal and was ‘ready to pack his bags’ and move to north London. Chelsea signed Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa (Picture: Getty) Rogers was the first of several summer targets that Arsenal failed to sign during the transfer window. Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez had his heart set on a move to Barcelona, Arsenal refused to pay over the odds for new Liverpool signing Bradley Barcola and Vinicius Junior signed a contract extension at Real Madrid. Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher was surprised Arsenal didn’t push harder to sign two-time Champions League winner Barcola from PSG. Rogers was reportedly keen to join Arsenal (Picture: Getty) ‘I’m happy it didn’t happen but I was looking at the Barcola thing,’ Carragher said on the latest episode of Stick to Football. ‘For me with Arsenal, left wing has always felt like where the drop is compared to [Bukayo] Saka, [Martin] Odegaard, [Kai] Havertz. ‘The new kid [Christos] Tzolis has made a decent start. But the longer the Barcola thing went on, and then Arsenal didn’t get Vinicius Jr or Alvarez, I was thinking is that [signing Barcola] not the one?’ {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"John Terry singles out act that Alonso did during Brighton game that spells well for Chelsea","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/08\/31\/5230901859085403608\/480x270_MP4_5230901859085403608.mp4","description":"He loves to see it.","duration":"T1M","height":480,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/08\/31\/14\/110952603-0-image-a-22_1788181481167.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-08-31T14:03:31+0100","width":270} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); Rogers has enjoyed a promising start to his Chelsea career, scoring and providing an assist in the first two Premier League games of the season. After completing a stunning move to west London, the 23-year-old England star said: ‘I’m joining the biggest club in London. ‘The way the club wants to go and how it wants to move forward is something I want to be a part of. I think it was just perfect for me. I just can’t
Manchester City will entertain Coventry City at the Etihad Stadium this Saturday as they look to secure all three points at home in the Premier League. The Mancunian club managed to earn a dominant 4-...
Former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp (Picture: Sky Sports) Jamie Redknapp has revealed his Premier League title prediction after Arsenal failed to sign £130m transfer target Julian Alvarez over the summer. Arsenal were pushing to sign Argentine striker Alvarez right up until the summer transfer window closed on Tuesday. Mikel Arteta even reportedly contacted Alvarez on multiple occasions to try to convince him to join the Premier League champions, but the Atletico Madrid star had his heart set on a move to Barcelona. Barca were equally attracted to the transfer but Atletico refused to sell Alvarez, who they value at 150m euros (£130m), to a direct La Liga rival. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. That meant Alvarez remained in Madrid at the end of the transfer window and Arsenal missed out on another key target after their failed bid to sign Brazil icon Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid. The Gunners did bolster Arteta’s squad with several impressive signings, however, with Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa and Christos Tzolis also moving to north London. Redknapp says Alvarez would have been a clear ‘upgrade’ on Arteta’s current attacking options but does not expect the transfer setback to stop Arsenal from winning the Premier League. Arsenal tried to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid (Picture: Getty) Arsenal, who won their first league title since 2004 last season, have made a bright start to their title defence, beating Coventry City on the opening weekend and Aston Villa on Monday night. Arteta’s side face an early test of their title credentials this weekend when Xabi Alonso takes his exciting Chelsea side to the Emirates Stadium. Asked whether Arsenal’s dream of signing Alvarez has died, Redknapp said on Sky Sports: ‘It seems to have. {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Arteta praises Arsenal's maturity in 1-0 win over Aston Villa","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/01\/1030376710448723935\/480x270_MP4_1030376710448723935.mp4","description":"Arteta also stressed the importance of squad depth after Konsa was substituted on for his debut for a Mosquera struggling with an injury.","duration":"T4M26S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/01\/07\/110968591-0-image-a-1_1788244180392.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-01T07:29:49+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); ‘It would have been a great signing, he is an upgrade on the strikers they’ve already got. He’s an elite player. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. ‘They obviously had their hearts set on Vini Junior as well, that didn’t happen either. They might just have to wait. You might have to wait until January if you want Alvarez and just be patient with the squad you’ve got. ‘There’s still a lot to be positive about. [Christos] Tzolis looks a really good player on the left-hand side, [Bruno] Guimaraes is going to be a really good signing, we saw that [against Aston Villa] albeit for 20 minutes. Some of his passing was top class. Arsenal won the Premier League last season (Picture: Getty) ‘They’ve got enough and they will win the title again with the squad they’ve already got. ‘It does leave you a little bit short on that
After winning the 2026 World Cup, Marcos Llorente announced his retirement from Spain national team at just 31 years old. The Spain national team took the global soccer community by storm with a dominant defensive run during the 2026 World Cup, conceding just one goal across the entire tournament. However, La Roja have suffered an immediate roster blow ahead of defending their crown in 2030, as utility star Marcos Llorente announced his retirement from international duty at just 31 years old. In a statement published on his Instagram account on Thursday, September 3, Llorente confirmed that he is stepping away from the senior national team. The decision caught observers off guard, given his status as a key member of the World Cup-winning squad and the expectation that he could remain an integral contributor for years to come. The Atletico Madrid midfielder turned right back also revealed that his retirement was decided well before the tournament kicked off in North America. “Regardless of whether I had gone to the World Cup or not, or whether we had won or not, I had already made this decision,” Llorente wrote. Llorente made his senior debut for Spain on November 11, 2020, coming off the bench for 18 minutes in an international friendly against the Netherlands. Over the subsequent six years, he compiled 27 total caps while transitioning seamlessly between central midfield and right back, recording four assists without finding the back of the net for La Roja. Marcos Llorente’s Instagram post. The versatile Spaniard featured during the group stage of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign, but missed the final four due to a muscle injury as Spain went on to claim the title. He was also left off the final roster for UEFA Euro 2024 by manager Luis de la Fuente, missing out on another major trophy during that cycle. His crowning international moment arrived this summer as Spain captured the 2026 World Cup trophy. Llorente opened the tournament as De la Fuente’s starting right back, playing all 90 minutes in group stage victories over Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, before Pedro Porro claimed the starting spot, leaving Llorente to make a brief six-minute cameo in the semifinal victory over France. Marcos Llorente’s farewell letter “After spending a lot of time thinking it over, I have decided to close my chapter with the National Team. I am aware that I am still young and that, perhaps, if I kept doing things right, I would still have years left to continue playing in this shirt. I know that many of you will not understand it and, surely, I wouldn’t have understood it from the outside either. But it is a personal decision, deeply considered and, above all, deeply felt. Regardless of whether I had gone to the World Cup or not, or whether we had won or not, I had already made this decision. I can only be infinitely grateful to all the people I have crossed paths with over these years who have made it possible for my family and me to experience unique and unforgettable moments. I take with me everything we experienced, but above all, these last 52 days. With a wonderful group that fought until the end to put Spain at the very top. And they did just that. It has been a matter of great pride to represent my country and be part of this history. Thank you for everything. A warm embrace to everyone.“
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