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Arsenal in fierce battle to sign Monza forward Gustavo Varela

By on November 5, 2026

Arsenal are in a fierce battle over a deal to sign prolific Portugal U21 international centre-forward Gustavo Varela from Monza, as per Fussball News.

The centre-forward began his career with Sporting’s renowned academy before moving to Greece in 2016 to join four-time Greek champions PAOK, where he progressed through the U17 and U19 ranks. He returned to Benfica in 2022 and was promoted to the B team a year later.

After netting 15 goals with the B team, there were high expectations that Varela would break into the first team, but it did not go to plan, as he only made one appearance before moving out on loan to Gil Vicente.

However, following his transfer to Monza last summer, Varela has proven why he was highly regarded at the academy, providing 12 goal contributions, including nine Serie A goals, the most of any player in the Italian league.

Now, according to Fussball News, several clubs, including Arsenal, have placed Varela on their radar ahead of a possible swoop.

Prolific forward

It appears the Premier League champions are already stepping up efforts to sign the youngster, with the report adding that the Gunners have been scouting the 21-year-old on several occasions to conduct checks on his finishing and physicality.

Despite placing a valuation on the Portuguese starting from £16m, Monza are not planning on selling him in January but could be open to significant offers that include guaranteed payments and add-ons, according to the report.

However, Arsenal are set to face a fierce battle from Chelsea, who have also scouted Varela, as well as other clubs including Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Brighton, Brentford, Fulham, Napoli, Juventus, Inter Milan, and AC Milan, Fussball News adds.

Monza are currently 18th in Serie A and face the threat of relegation unless Ivan Jurić manages to reverse their poor run of form, which has included three straight defeats.

Having only brought Varela to the club recently, Monza would ordinarily want to keep him for at least another season. However, their difficult campaign and growing interest from leading European clubs like Arsenal could leave them battling to hold on to the forward in January.