Arsenal are set to step up their pursuit of Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers, as Mikel Arteta looks to freshen up his title-winning squad ahead of the new Premier League season.

The Gunners may have won the league for the first time in 22 years last season, but the club’s hierarchy aren’t prepared to sit back and take it easy in the transfer market. With their rivals in a period of transition, the North London club sense they have an opportunity to dominate English football over the coming years.

Rogers is a priority signing for sporting director Andrea Berta, although Villa’s hefty £130million asking price could present a stumbling block in the prospective deal. That said, creative negotiations from Berta could see the transfer over the line.

Arsenal are expected to turn towards Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola if they can’t land the England international, although given the noise around Rogers, it seems likely that Villa will concede and the Gunners will get their man.

Morgan Rogers Could Wear his Favourite Shirt Number at Arsenal

Whenever a major transfer goes through, fans of the club receiving the player become obsessed with every detail around the signing’s arrival. This includes what shirt number the player will wear at their new club, so supporters can envisage them in their team’s colours.

If Rogers arrives at Arsenal, there will certainly be fanfare around his move to North London. The creative midfielder has worn the number 27 throughout his time at Villa, while he also wore this number in his stints at Lincoln City and Bournemouth.

This repeated use of 27 isn’t a coincidence. Speaking to Sky Sports Premier League last year, the 23-year-old revealed why he is attached to the number.

“I went to Lincoln on loan, and it was the only number that looked remotely okay at the time,” he said.

“It wasn’t my number, but I was looking at the numbers and thought none of these [suit me]. It was because it had the seven in, [Cristiano] Ronaldo was my idol growing up.

“So, because it had the seven I picked that. I wasn’t necessarily sold on it but because then I had a good loan, it kinda stuck with me.”

Rogers did indeed enjoy an impressive spell on loan with the Imps, netting six goals and providing two assists across 28 appearances in League One. This earned him a subsequent loan move to Championship side Bournemouth the following season.

“It’s always the number I’d pick if I go to a club.”

The number 27 has been vacant at Arsenal since Brazilian winger Marquinhos donned it in the 2022/23 season, while the likes of Konstantinos Mavropanos, Gervinho and Emmanuel Eboue have also worn it previously at the Emirates Stadium.

Thus, the Gunners can offer Rogers his preferred shirt number, and this could even be a small factor in convincing him to swap the West Midlands for North London this summer.

Alternative Squad Numbers Available to Morgan Rogers at Arsenal

Caean Couto (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)

While Rogers’ comments suggest he’s likely to take 27 if he completes a move to Arsenal, he has worn other numbers previously, and he could still be tempted to switch things up at his prospective new club.

After his stint at Bournemouth, Rogers went on loan to Blackpool for a season, and wore the number 25 shirt. The following year, he joined Middlesbrough permanently and wore number ten on Teesside.

While the number ten is held by Eberechi Eze at Arsenal, 25 has been available at the North London club since Mohamed Elneny’s exit in 2024.

Alternatively, Rogers could be tempted to opt for a more iconic number. There are currently no starting eleven numbers available in Arteta’s squad, although two are expected to spring up over the course of the summer.

Gabriel Jesus is expected to leave, making the number nine shirt available. While this shirt is typically associated with strikers, Rogers could reinvent it at Arsenal as his own iconic look.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli may also be on his way out of North London, and this departure would make the number 11 shirt available. Given Arsenal reportedly consider Rogers as an option on the left wing, and the number 11 is typically worn by left wingers, this selection would make a lot of sense.

Elsewhere, the numbers 15, 17 and 18 are vacant at Arsenal, providing Rogers with a host of potential options if he, for some reason, doesn’t go down his trodden 27 path.

Currently available shirt numbers for Rogers at Arsenal: 15, 17, 18, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, and several more above 40.

A World Cup nation has demanded urgent legal action after one of their star players has gone ‘into hiding’ after receiving death threats following the team’s exit this week. The player in question has refused to fly home with his teammates, with him now issuing a heartbreaking plea to his homeland.

This ordeal comes just 32 years after defender Andres Escobar scored an own goal in Colombia’s defeat to hosts the USA – a result that contributed to the team’s elimination. Just days after returning home, he was shot dead outside of a nightclub in Medellin, marking one of the darkest chapters in football history.

While there is no suggestion that this player faces a similar situation, the decision not to travel home yet underlines the seriousness of the issues at hand, with his federation desperately working with authorities to avoid things escalating any further.

World Cup Nation Demands Legal Action As Player Receives Death Threats

Paul Childs via Reuters

Colombia’s World Cup campaign came to a heartbreaking end on Tuesday night as they were eliminated on penalties by Switzerland following a 0-0 draw in Vancouver, Canada. But in the final minutes of extra-time, Jaminton Campaz had a golden opportunity to help his nation clinch a winner, with him skying the ball from close range.

According to Argentine outlet Infobae, Campaz – who plays his club football for Rosario Central – did not board his nation’s flight home to Bogota over serious concerns for his safety. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but the decision follows days of sustained harassment on social media. The Colombian Football Federation responded on Friday by issuing a strong statement condemning the threats:

Eloisa Sanchez via Reuters

The statement also went on to urge the country’s Attorney General’s Office to identify those responsible and prosecute them as quickly as possible.

Jaminton Campaz’s Heartbreaking Plea to Colombia

Albert Gea via Reuters

Campaz has also since took to Instagram to plead for calm – and for his life. “My Colombia, please let us never lose sight of respect,” the 26-year-oldwrote in Spanish on Instagram on Thursday. “We may hold different views or feel frustration and sadness, but no passion justifies hatred or living in fear.

He continued: “Thanks also to my family, who have been my strength at every step and have been by my side during both the happiest and the most difficult moments. To the entire country, I can only say that I share the pain of this elimination. We, too, dreamed of advancing further, and I know the sadness we feel today as Colombians.

“I deeply regret not being able to bring you the joy we all hoped for, but I want you to know that there was never a lack of dedication, commitment, or love for this jersey. I gave everything I had on the pitch, and I would do it a thousand times over for my country.”

Tottenham Hotspur have been offered the chance to sign a big-money striker as they look to bolster their attacking options ahead of next season, according to GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Ben Jacobs.

Tottenham and ENIC have gone into overdrive in the summer transfer window to ensure Roberto De Zerbi has the squad he needs to lead the club up the Premier League standings, having only confirmed survival on the final day of last season.

Spurs have already brought in half-a-dozen players to transform their defence and central midfield, including breaking their transfer record twice to first sign West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes, and then Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali.

The north London outfit will surely need to sell some players next for financial reasons as well as reducing the size of the squad, with Cristian Romero, Luka Vuskovic, Guglielmo Vicario and Richarlison among those heavily linked with an exit from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham’s next transfer priority is to boost their frontline, with talk that they want to add a new left-winger and a new centre-forward to De Zerbi’s squad, especially if Richarlison does go.

Eli Junior Kroupi of Bournemouth is a confirmed target, but they have been offered another player.

Tottenham Offered Chance to Sign Kolo Muani

via Reuters

After an underwhelming season-long loan spell at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs had seemingly decided not to try and sign Randal Kolo Muani on a permanent deal from Paris Saint-Germain.

Instead, the €90m (£77m) forward has been keen to join Juventus with talks underway between the two clubs, but PSG have grown frustrated by the lack of progress over a move.

The Champions League holders have now performed a big U-turn and have opened the door for other European clubs to sign the 27-year-old.

According to Jacobs, speaking on the latest episode of GIVEMESPORT’s Market Madness Podcast, Tottenham are one of the clubs who have been contacted over a move for the France international.

The journalist said: “Now, what’s happening is PSG have moved from giving preference to Kolo Muani’s desired move to opening the door to both English and, I’m told, German suitors as well, because they want to get this deal done, they want to facilitate the sale, and it’s currently not progressing with that move to Juventus.

“So now PSG have to start looking at other options, and that’s where Spurs come in. I’m not aware that Spurs have made a decision on Randal Kolo Muani yet, and if they want to try and do that deal, and the expectation was that he would just go. But it’s PSG driving the possibility to other clubs and offering him back to Tottenham and others to see whether there’s a deal to be had because they’re not making progress at the moment.

“But Kolo Muani has got one preference; he wants to go to Juventus, and we still shouldn’t discount that move.”

Tottenham Have Number One Winger Target

via Reuters

Tottenham are determined to land a new left-winger this summer, but despite links with the likes of Rafael Leao and Cody Gakpo, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Manchester City forward Savinho is their ‘number one, two and three’ target for the position.

Spurs tried to sign the Brazilian last summer and it appears as though their interest in the player is still strong, even though De Zerbi only joined the club a few months ago.

The north London outfit need to offer a number that will convince City to sell, with the former Premier League champions knowing they have money to spend after their £185m outlay on Fernandes and Tonali.