The Gunners enjoyed one of their most successful seasons of the last decade, coming within a whisker of enjoying a league and Champions League double, and Mikel Arteta, whilst disappointed in the aftermath of the defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, was in little doubt as to what was needed to push on again from the opening of the 2026/27 campaign.
Martinelli's Arsenal days numbered?
Whilst it's clear that the futures of players such as Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and a handful of others are non-negotiable, there are one or two who could be regarded as 'fringe' players now, and are likely to be moved on.
The future of Gabriel Martinelli, for example, has long been a topic of conversation around North London.
News that Arsenal have had a bid turned down for flying Leicester winger Jeremy Monga, as well as preparing another bid for PSG speedster Bradley Barcola, would suggest that the Brazilian's days at the Emirates Stadium are numbered.
Monga is just 16 but has been a long-term target for the Gunners, and the expectation is that they will go back with a revised offer that's more acceptable to the Foxes.
Clearly, the England youth international is one for the future, meaning that Barcola, often a substitute for Luis Enrique, would be a clear first choice in the wide left position that Martinelli and Leandro Trossard have inhabited.
Barcola's speed a real asset for PSG
At 23 years of age, Barcola still has room for growth, but there's no doubting his talent.
In 2025/26, Martinelli came up with 11 goals and seven assists in all competitions, the same total as Saka, and only behind Viktor Gyokeres' output.
Trossard had the same amount of goal contributions (18), made up of eight goals and 10 assists.
By comparison, Barcola scored 13 goals and provided eight assists, just one goal behind the more celebrated Desire Doue, placing him fourth in the entire squad, which is some feat when one considers the calibre of player at the European champions.
Trossard also hit the woodwork eight times, by far the most in the Arsenal squad, whilst Martinelli's 11 fast breaks were only topped by 16 from Saka.
Barcola's 17 fast breaks were the joint most in the PSG squad along with Doue, and he also found the post or bar on three separate occasions.
Better chance creation and passing than Arsenal pair
When it comes to chances created, Trossard's 50 trumps Martinelli's 40, though the former did play approximately 600 more minutes across the season than the Brazilian.
An incredible 77 chances created by Barcola is again a PSG best, and evidence of just how important he could be to Arteta.
In terms of the Arsenal duo's passing stats from last season, the pair are at the bottom of the scale in terms of accuracy, even if 77.89% (Trossard) and 78.96% (Martinelli) don't sound that awful.
It's also worth pointing out that if one takes only passes made in the opponent's half, arguably where Trossard and Martinelli need to be providing their best work, neither player really improves upon their output in this regard.
Improvements must be made in other areas
Just 17 of the Belgian's 73 crosses found their target, and 22 of the Brazilians' 83 were successful.
PSG have long been renowned for their passing game under Luis Enrique, so Barcola's 84.79% passing rate shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
In terms of his crossing ability, the Frenchman only managed to get nine from 40 attempted to find his target, so this is a clear area that needs addressing.
Defensively, Martinelli's poor return when it comes to one-on-one duels (40.81%), the second worst in the squad behind Gyokeres, is clearly a problem, whilst Trossard fares little better, posting 47.06% success.
Barcola's 41.81% is another element of his game which needs refining, but no one at Arsenal would surely ever think that a 23-year-old would be the finished article in any event.
At this stage, it isn't clear if Barcola wants the move or how much it would cost to prise the Frenchman from Paris.
With PSG not necessarily eager to sell either, they might well make life more difficult financially for Arsenal, particularly as they'll likely now see the North Londoners as one of their major competitors for the game's biggest prizes.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
