Desailly urges Barcola to reject Arsenal move as Gunners chase left-winger with £250m budget

Marcel Desailly has urged Bradley Barcola to remain at Paris Saint-Germain and reject interest from Arsenal, dealing a potential blow to the Gunners’ plans as they look to strengthen ahead of their Premier League title defence.

The 23-year-old Barcola, currently on World Cup duty with France, had reportedly informed PSG of his desire to leave earlier this month. But the former Chelsea and France defender Desailly was unequivocal in his advice, telling Sportcasting: “Barcola doesn’t need to leave PSG. He’s too young. He’s only 23 years old. Didier Deschamps is teaching him a lesson, and he’s giving him a chance.”

Desailly pointed to areas of Barcola’s game still requiring development, particularly his defensive work. “He’s young — the attention and defensive alertness isn’t there to match the speed he projects when he’s going forward,” he said. “He wasn’t making the effort to get back into position. So he’s growing, he’s learning and he’s getting that winning mentality on both sides of the game. Should he move to the Premier League? Not yet. Not yet at all. Sorry, Arsenal and Liverpool fans. He should stay at PSG, play 25 games a season and grow within that system.”

Arsenal’s need for a left-winger is pressing. Leandro Trossard is expected to depart for Besiktas, while Gabriel Martinelli managed just one Premier League goal last season. A new wide attacker and a central midfielder remain Mikel Arteta’s top priorities as the club look to go back-to-back domestically and push deeper into the Champions League.

The Gunners’ only senior signing so far this summer is Ecuador international Piero Hincapie, who completed a £34.5 million move from Bayer Leverkusen following a successful loan spell. Sporting director Andrea Berta is reported to have a £250 million transfer budget at his disposal, and activity is expected to accelerate when the first wave of players return to the Sobha Realty Training Centre for pre-season next week.

Alongside Barcola, Arsenal have been linked with Morgan Rogers, Rafael Leão, Bruno Guimarães, and Ayyoub Bouaddi as they cast a wide net in their search for reinforcements.