Arsenal sign Real Madrid superstar and £26m gem as monster £208m further transfer spend predicted

Arsenal have had a barnstorming transfer window with Viktor Gyokeres’ £64m arrival the icing on the cake of a summer that’s finally seen Mikel Arteta satisfy fans’ ambitions and fix almost all of the major problems at the Emirates - but we thought he could do with a little AI help to finish off the job and it predicted a further splurge of £208 million.

Martin Zubimendi’s transfer saga may have set a record for the most ‘here we go’s in Twitter history but they did get the deal over the line to transform the launchpad of Arsenal’s attack, while Gyokeres should be able to help finish them off after Liverpool outscored the Gunners by 17 goals last season.

Meanwhile Noni Madueke should provide more competition to the creative hub in between the pair and Christian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga all boost squad depth in their respective positions, meaning it’s really only left wing that’s still a major requirement for Arteta.

With that in mind, we asked Grok what Arsenal fans could expect from the rest of the window and it highlighted three marquee arrivals while earmarking six players to depart the club before September.

Rodrygo headlines strong finish to transfer window

Grok believes Arsenal’s summer-long search for left-winger to compliment Bukayo Saka will culminate in the £100m arrival of Rodrygo from Real Madrid. The Gunners launched 43% of their attacks down the right flank last season, the highest in the Premier League, and their reliance on their talisman was most brutally exposed when Saka was injured for three months, coinciding with the busiest period of the season.

Over those 19 games Arsenal’s goal output per 90 minutes dropped from 2.12 to 1.77 and they won 0.5 fewer points against top-half sides according to Squawka. Stunningly, Rodrygo was barely used by Xabi Alonso despite Real Madrid’s destructive aversion to competently pressing the opposition that was most brutally exposed in their 4-0 loss to PSG, where the Brazilian was an unused substitute.

Before the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo had made 56 goal contributions and even more importantly had a host of pivotal interventions in big knockout games and finals, making a Didier Drogba-like impact on Los Blancos that was noticeably absent in a 2024/25 season where they went trophyless outside of two super cup wins.

But Real Madrid’s loss will be Arsenal’s gain according to Grok, and the AI doesn’t stop there, further bolstering Arteta’s attacking options with the signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace for his release clause of £68m. It would mean the Gunners’ top forward players would transform from Saka, Kai Havertz, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli to Saka, Gyokeres, Rodrygo, Eze and Madueke in the space of a single summer.

Meanwhile, with the departure in disgrace of Thomas Partey there’s more depth required in midfield and Joao Palhinha is reportedly available from Bayern Munich at a heavily discounted price. The Bavarians paid £47m for him last season but Grok believes the Gunners could snag him for £40m in news that must also be welcome for negotiators knowing that their jobs are safe from AI for now - it’s believed Palhinha is actually available for £25-30m.

Six predicted to head out Arsenal exit door

Despite Arsenal’s impressive revenue, this kind of spending can’t be financed without player sales and Grok predicts they can raise £135m from player sales of mostly fringe players in the second half of this window.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is the highest-profile departure, taking his four Premier League winners’ medals to Newcastle according to the AI, which also listed Borussia Dortmund as a potential destination.

He’s off for £30m, as is Trossard to Fenerbahce given the influx of wide talent, while is yet to join back up with the Arsenal squad according to Daily Cannon after spending the season on loan at Porto and featuring in the Club World Cup so it’s no surprise to see Grok send him back to his boyhood club.

Reiss Nelson didn’t show enough on loan to Fulham to force himself back into Arteta’s plans and Grok agrees, believing Palace could bite seeing Nelson as a replacement for Eze as well as picking up former loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga for a combined £35m, move that will surely more than make up for the loss of their England star in Eagles’ fans minds.

Finally, Jakub Kiwior is judged surplus to requirements and AC Milan happily snap him up for £20m in Grok’s prediction while Karl Hein returns to Real Valladolid after missing Arsenal’s pre-season tour with a thumb injury, completing a 21-man overhaul this summer.

AI-predicted 2025/26 Tottenham starting XI: Grok made the slight shift to a 4-2-3-1 given the arrival of Eze and predicted this starting side for Arsenal following these signings: Raya; Timber, Gabriel, Saliba, Lewis-Skelly; Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Eze, Rodrygo; Gyokeres.