Arsenal told to sign £86m ‘world-class’ star before Man City

James Holland 19 Aug 2025 7:07 AM

Mikel Arteta next to the Arsenal badge - copyright TEAMtalk

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

Micah Richards has explained why Arsenal should sign Real Madrid ace Rodrygo, in a deal which would see rivals Manchester City miss out.

Rodrygo is open to leaving Real Madrid this summer as he wants to get out of the shadow of fellow attacking superstars Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. Rodrygo wants to play in his favoured position on the left wing regularly and that is not possible while Vinicius and Mbappe are at the Bernabeu.

While Xabi Alonso and Madrid rate Rodrygo very highly, they have given him the green light to explore a summer exit.

The Spanish titans want €100million (£86m) before selling Rodrygo, reflecting his status as one of the very best attackers in world football.

The Brazilian has snubbed interest from Saudi Arabia as he only wants to move to the Premier League if leaving Madrid.

Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool have all expressed interest in signing Rodrygo in recent months.

The Gunners have addressed the right wing position this summer by landing Noni Madueke from Chelsea, and signing an elite replacement for Gabriel Martinelli on the other side would take their forward line to the next level.

Following Arsenal’s 1-0 away win over Manchester United on Sunday, Richards spoke about the attacking options at Mikel Arteta’s disposal and recommended Rodrygo be captured.

“I still think they’re a left winger short or left forward short,” Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast.

“Although I prefer Madueke on the right-hand side rather than the left, I just look at that position on the left-hand side [and] think if they could sort that.

“They were linked to Rodrygo, that could solve a lot of problems for them.”

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Arsenal could fight Man City for Rodrygo

Rodrygo has previously been named as Arteta’s dream signing at left wing. The 24-year-old has been called a ‘world-class superstar’ by Luka Modric and Arteta believes he would be a huge hit in the Premier League.

But the same can be said of Pep Guardiola, who is gunning to take Rodrygo to City.

The Cityzens have already allowed Jack Grealish to join Everton on loan and will make a bid for Rodrygo if Savinho leaves too. Tottenham Hotspur remain in talks for Savinho after having a €50m (£43m) bid for him rejected by City recently.

While Richards thinks Arsenal need another attacking recruit, he did go on to praise their strength in depth at full-back.

“It’s a massive win away from home, and it just gives you the momentum that you need for the start of the season,” the pundit added.

“If you look at Arsenal’s bench today, you know Ben White started with [Riccardo] Calafiori, and [Myles] Lewis-Skelly last season was outstanding and [Jurrien] Timber.

“You can change the full-backs now and not affect the team. The quality doesn’t go down, so that would help them, as long as everyone stays fit throughout the season.”