‘A Load of Rubbish’—Arsenal, Liverpool Given Explicit Premier League Transfer Answer

Arsenal and Liverpool were both linked with the same in-form forward.

Mikel Arteta (left) and Arne Slot were both fired a very clear message. | Andrew Kearns-CameraSport/Catherine Ivill-AMA/Getty Images

Newcastle United forward Anthony Gordon has laughed off rumours of a move to Arsenal or Liverpool, explicitly labelling the transfer talk as “a load of rubbish.”

Gordon has been spuriously linked with a Tyneside exit for months. Arsenal hold the attraction of being Premier League leaders while defending champions Liverpool are the club the Liverpudlian grew up supporting. Both Premier League giants are obviously in need of a left winger but it appears as though they will have to direct their search elsewhere.

After racking up four first-half Champions League goals for Newcastle against Qarabağ on Wednesday night, Gordon was questioned about the transfer speculation which has surrounded him. “About me?” he asked. “I haven’t seen them. What are they saying?”

When Gordon was presented with the names of Arsenal and Liverpool, he shot back: “It’s the same old, same old. I think they just pick names out of a hat. They do. I haven’t heard anything; they might want to tell me before they tell you [the media].

“I have gone through enough transfer stuff now to know that it is all a load of rubbish.”

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Who Should Arsenal, Liverpool Target Instead of Anthony Gordon?

Bradley Barcola has been repeatedly linked with a PSG exit. | Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Gordon may be off the table, but Arsenal and Liverpool’s need for a new left winger remains. The Reds never replaced Luis Díaz and lost another option out wide with the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. Cody Gakpo has endured an underwhelming campaign while Rio Ngumoha’s evolution from teenage prodigy into first-team regular has been understandably patchy.

Arsenal have several options on the left wing, yet it must be a slight concern that the most convincing of them is 31-year-old Leandro Trossard. Eberechi Eze could still work in that position with the right players around him, but Gabriel Martinelli offers a profile that could be considerably upgraded should he leave this summer. Given he currently boasts one Premier League goal with 70% of the season already elapsed, it’s not a great deal of output to replace.

Paris Saint-Germain’s criminally under-rated starlet Bradley Barcola serves as the most desirable option for both clubs. The 23-year-old Frenchman can operate in all three positions across the frontline, leads Ligue 1 for non-penalty expected goals per 90 and ranks seventh for average expected assists. Yet, when all PSG’s players are fully fit, he’s not in Luis Enrique’s first-choice XI.

That is the cost of playing for a club which already employs Ousmane Dembélé, Desiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Yet, this competition could offer an opening for Arsenal and Liverpool to pounce.

The physicality and pace of Ligue 1 provides arguably the best preparation for the challenge of the Premier League, but should England’s two giants want to shop closer to home, Gordon’s teammate Harvey Barnes could prove to be an appealing option.

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Were Arsenal, Liverpool Looking at the Right Newcastle Player?

Harvey Barnes has racked up five Premier League goals for Newcastle. | Serena Taylor/Newcastle United/Getty Images

Stats (Premier League)	Harvey Barnes	Anthony Gordon
Games	25	20
Non-Penalty Goals	5	1
NP xG	5.7	4.0
Shots per Game	2.8	2.2
Open Play Assists	0	1
OP xA	2.0	2.9
Key Passes per Game	1.0	1.2

Stats via Opta.

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An entirely uncharacteristic quartet against Qarabağ notwithstanding, Gordon is far less prolific than Barnes. The latter averages a very respectable, team-leading 0.37 non-penalty xG per 90 for a Newcastle side which has struggled once again to balance the demands of European football, forever cutting in from the left onto his right foot with a move everyone knows is coming, but far fewer can stop.

What Barnes lacks is Gordon’s physical gifts. Yet, that blinding pace is not necessarily of the utmost importance to clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool who so often operate against compact low blocks. No one can doubt that Martinelli is very fast, he just never has the space to use it.

Someone like AC Milan’s Rafael Leão threatens to balance grace and gusto but may be too inconsistent to gamble on, especially if the Serie A side hold firm on their lofty valuation of the mercurial forward.

Iliman Ndiaye has consistently excelled for Everton this term, wriggling his way into a glut of dangerous attacking opportunities for one of the division’s more pragmatic outfits. However, there would be a Premier League tax applied to the African champion.

The extensive scouting departments of Arsenal and Liverpool will have been on the hunt for a new left winger for months, if not years. They may very well both add to that area of the pitch this summer, but if Gordon was on any of those prospective shortlists, he’s crossed his name off.

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