Arsenal Column: 2025/26 Fixture, Nico Williams & Rodrigo latest, and reactions to potential free transfers

Thinking about Arsenal’s Premier League Fixture List

Well, you won’t be making the start of the new Premier League season much more severe than what Arsenal was handed over for the 2025/26 campaign.

I know the old cliché that “everyone has to play each other twice,” but even so, if they can choose to start the season, I think it’s clear that Arsenal isn’t picking what they’re facing right now.

United, Liverpool and Newcastle are far from ideal as their first three away games, especially with equipment from their homes sandwiched between Leeds, Forest and the city.

Completely: Arsenal 2025/26 Premier League fixture list

But one thing these fixtures should do is focus Arsenal’s attention even more on the transfer market. The clubs need to make sure they are ready to go as soon as the new season begins.

New signatures should be done early as they are adapted and adjusted throughout the preseason and ready to reach the ground running during the early weeks of the campaign.

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta need to be able to focus on the game rather than worrying about scrambling in the final weeks of the window looking for additional.

Arsenal knows so well that it’s very difficult to stay in the Premier League title race.

And if you catch yourself in an unprepared season, you will be spotted soon and Arsenal can’t afford it.

Nico Williams appears to be out of Arsenal’s photo

If he leaves Bilbao this summer, there is clearly a lot of chat at this point, given what appears to have said to all clubs interested in him that he likes to move towards Barcelona.

That would be a blow to Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.

They tried to take him with him last summer and he was told he wanted to stay in Spain.

We’ve seen reports that Arsenal has done it as long as it offers Williams a contract. It’s not true.

Of course, his agents would have been aware of what money would have been offered if Williams had been interested in the move to London, but that was as far as things got.

I was hoping he would see him in the Premier League so it’s a shame he doesn’t look like he’s coming to Arsenal.

He’s still pretty raw, but he can clearly be very special and it would have been interesting to see what he’ll be under Arteta.

It would have been an exciting signature. The type of arrival that would have created real buzz around the club.

But there are other exciting leftists as well, so as long as Arsenal goes out and makes a deal for someone who really broadly strengthens their options, it’s far from the end of the world.

Rodrigo might be the ideal winger to sign Arsenal

Rodrigo was my choice as the new left winger, and Williams seems to be out of the picture now.

I know I’m interested from Arsenal, but it feels like something that can run deep into the window.

It is not yet clear whether Rodrigo will be available. The hope is that a final decision will be made after Real Madrid’s stay at the Club World Cup.

So it depends heavily on whether Arsenal wants to wait to see if a deal is possible for the Brazilians.

Another proposed name is Anthony Gordon of Newcastle.

Mikel Arteta loves to sign players in the Premier League experience. I’ve seen it with Ben White, Leandro Torosad, Declan Rice, Kai Herberts, and Giorguinho.

If Arsenal tested the water for someone like Gordon, that’s not a shock. I think he’s a player who can come in and have a big impact on the Emirates.

But whether Newcastle is willing to let him go is another thing.

That would probably be a very difficult deal, especially if Newcastle is eligible for the Champions League.

Arsenal’s left back can be taken out for free transfer

I think Ricardo Calfioli will play a major role in Arsenal next season, with the arrival of Miles Lewis Skelly.

I’ve seen the suggestions for exits this summer that AC Milan might be pushing him forward, but I can’t see it myself. I think he has a lot to offer and we just scratched the surface with him last season in regards to what he can bring.

Obviously, he needs to stay healthy first and foremost. But if he can do that, we’ll see a lot of him.

He’s a really funny player and when he fits, he shows what he has to offer. He brings a bit of confusion when he’s on the pitch and this Arsenal team needs it a bit.

Lewis-Skelly is clearly the left back of the first choice, but that doesn’t mean that Calafiori won’t play. If he continues to get injured, I think he’ll get a lot of money.

So, even if Milan makes the offer, seducing Arsenal into business must be huge and I can’t see them do it.

This is a different story from Oleksandr Zinchenko. He is a player Arsenal accepts sales, and the words from Italy are that Milan’s interest in him is serious.

However, wages can be an issue.

I don’t know if Zinchenko will hurry away or not. He has a year left in his deal and he has gotten money at Arsenal so he hasn’t reached elsewhere, especially in Italy.

So, it’s not surprising that he will stay and see his contract before evaluating his options as a free agent next year.