Arsenal transfer news: Arsenal are actively scanning the market for left-wing reinforcements, with Gabriel Martinelli‘s imminent £50m move to Al-Hilal leaving a gaping hole in Mikel Arteta‘s front line. According to Graeme Bailey, the Gunners have made direct enquiries about Igor Paixao in recent days, with the Marseille winger firmly on their radar.
Malick Fofana of Lyon has also been flagged to Arsenal as a viable candidate. Alongside both permanent options, the club are keeping a loan move for Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford very much alive; three names, one vacancy, and an extremely tight window.
Arsenal transfer news: The case for each candidate
Igor Paixao, 26, had a genuinely strong 2025/26 campaign. Six goals and five assists across 30 Ligue 1 games for Marseille, plus four goals in eight Champions League appearances; that’s a tidy return. But Paixao is contracted until 2030, meaning Marseille will demand a serious premium to sell, and his shooting accuracy sat at just 40% last season with 93 recorded loss-of-possession events. That’s not the profile you want dropped straight into a Premier League title race.
Malick Fofana is the more electric prospect. The 21-year-old Belgium international opened his 2026/27 account sharply, scoring against both Toulouse and Fenerbahce, and he’s looked dangerous at international level too. The problem is context. Lyon managed his minutes carefully last season, handing him only 751 minutes in Ligue 1. Two goals and one assist in 12 appearances. Asking a young player with that workload to replace Martinelli at the Emirates immediately is genuinely risky.
Arsenal transfer news: Why Rashford makes the most sense right now
Rashford is the pragmatic answer here, and the numbers back that up. At Barcelona last season, he produced eight goals and seven assists in 32 La Liga games, adding five goals across eleven Champions League outings. 24 shots on target and an 86% passing completion rate in Spain. Those figures reflect a player who found genuine form again under elite tactical demands.
A loan deal also gives Arsenal real financial breathing room. Breaking Paixao’s 2030 contract or Fofana’s 2028 deal in deadline-week conditions means panic-buying at premium cost, which puts pressure on PSR compliance. A loan for Rashford carries none of that structural risk.
Read: Arsenal closing in on blockbuster £130m summer transfer for world-class attacker
Arteta has already shown he can revive experienced players who’ve hit a rough patch. Rashford, who blanked in just 45 minutes against Hull recently, fits squarely into that category. The left half-space role suits him, his versatility across the front three covers additional problems, and his experience in the English top flight requires zero adjustment time.
