Xabi Alonso has challenged Arsenal to find a better player than Morgan Rogers after Chelsea beat the Premier League champions to the signing of the England international.
Mikel Arteta had made the now former Aston Villa star his No.1 target this summer and it appeared almost certain that the ex-Middlesbrough forward would join the Gunners this summer.
Arsenal, however, baulked at Villa’s valuation which had been inflated as a consequence of Manchester City paying £116million for Rogers’ international teammate Eliott Anderson.
Sensing an opportunity, Chelsea pounced and decided to smash the British transfer record to sign a player who had been coveted by their rivals.
Get personalised football updates every day
Sign up to our daily football newsletter and choose your team to get the latest news, rumours and more direct to your inbox every morning.
As a result, Arsenal have been forced to turn to alternative options but are struggling to make headway in their pursuit of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, while Bradley Barcola appears to prefer a move to Liverpool.
Speaking for the first time since hijacking Arsenal’s interest to secure Rogers, Alonso said: ‘All the ones who come later because they reached the final stages of the World Cup, they will be ready. We have a few of them so they have to be ready. It’s a great signing.
‘In that position we needed an important player and I’m sure there were not many better options than Morgan Rogers.
‘We were looking at him for a long time. He’s going to be a key player for the team. Luckily it happened quickly and now we have Morgan.
‘You need players who can have that almost instant impact, and I’m sure Morgan won’t need much time to adapt to the club, to the system, to his team-mates.
‘That was the idea that we wanted and to get a top player and Morgan is one of them.’
Chelsea’s summer spending, meanwhile, is far from over with Crystal Palace centre-half Maxence Lacroix expected to arrive this week.
Asked about the impending addition of a Premier League-proven defender, Alonso added: Asked about Lacroix, Alonso said: ‘We want to build a competitive team.
‘We are in that process. We have great quality, great talent, and we need to know what it takes to compete in the Premier League.
‘We want a squad with the right balance between quality and mentality. Those things need to match.
‘We have to be ready. The market is open for a few weeks. We need to be aware of different positions, different situations, so for sure, we have a plan, an idea, and we need to assess in the right moments.
‘We can’t say what’s going to happen but some things might happen.’