After Paris Saint-Germain’s narrow Champions League play-off win over Monaco, there is one topic dominating French media: Bradley Barcola’s year-long goal drought.
You would have to rewind back to February 19th 2025 to revisit the last time Barcola scored for PSG in the Champions League.
That’s 53 weeks and 17 consecutive Champions League matches without a goal for the winger, which concerns me about whether Arsenal should look at the Frenchman in the summer.
Arsenal have shown strong interest in Barcola in the past, and given that Andrea Berta wants a new attacker in the summer, I’ve been paying closer attention to the 23-year-old’s form.
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There’s one guarantee when you watch Barcola, and that’s excitement, as the winger is incredible to watch when at full-flow on the left flank.
As a right-footed left-winger, profile-wise, he’s everything Arsenal need right now, but is he really?
Gabriel Martinelli needs to be replaced, but he needs to be replaced by a player who is a significant upgrade rather than a player with potential.
We saw in the summer that signing Noni Madueke wasn’t enough to bring more goals to Arsenal’s attack; thus, my concern is that Barcola presents the same issue.
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It’s been over a year since Barcola last scored in the Champions League, which is concerning French media, and which is concerning me, a loyal Arsenal fan.
Granted, things are different for the Frenchman in Ligue 1, as he’s scored eight goals in 20 appearances, but you cannot escape the disappointment in such a lengthy drought in Europe.
It’s unheard of for a top-calibre forward to go so long without scoring, which is why I ask, is Barcola really the profile Arsenal need, or would we be going around in circles?
The way to grasp what the answer is is to look at the stats.
The numbers show that, while Barcola hasn’t scored in the Champions League this season, he really should have, underperforming on the expected goals metric by 3.22 goals.
Who else has numbers like that this season? You guessed it, Martinelli.
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An eye-opening insight 🫣
Martinelli is the opposite of Barcola in that he thrives in the cups but not in the league, but when honing in on the Brazilian’s Premier League form, the figures are almost identical to the PSG man’s.
Having scored just once in the Premier League this season, Martinelli has also significantly underperformed in the expected goals metric, his standing at 3.27xG.
So, while Barcola is more exciting on the eye and more unpredictable than Martinelli, when it comes to what really matters, he’s not as different as some would think.
The good news is that improvement is possible, and he’s got a staggeringly high ceiling to explore, still being only 23, but if Arsenal are targeting a ready-made goalscoring wide-man, I’m unconvinced that Barcola is that.
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