Alonso makes huge Rogers, Chelsea claim as Arsenal told they’ve made £117m mistake

Xabi Alonso believes Morgan Rogers will be crucial to his team’s long-term success, as the playmaker prepares to face the other team he came close to joining, Arsenal, on Sunday.

Chelsea paid a whopping £117million to sign Rogers from Aston Villa after a 2025/26 season in which the England international notched 10 goals and seven assists in the Premier League.

The 24-year-old has kicked off his Chelsea career with a bang, too, scoring in the Blues’ 3-2 win over Fulham before providing an assist in a 4-3 victory against Brighton.

The game against Arsenal this weekend will undoubtedly be Alonso’s biggest test as Chelsea manager yet, but the Spaniard believes Rogers can make a huge difference.

“Talking about the squad planning, and making big decisions, the decision to get Morgan was a big one,” Alonso said, as cited by Football365.

“He will be a key player for the next six-seven years. His chemistry with the whole team is great, with his striker partners, it’s fantastic and it gives us a lot of hope for the future.

“He looks really happy, and that’s important.”

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Wright ‘gutted’ Arsenal didn’t sign Rogers

Ahead of the Chelsea, Arsenal clash, which takes place at the Emirates, Gunners legend Ian Wright expressed his regret that his former side didn’t win the race for Rogers.

Wright said on Stick to Football: “It’s not a disastrous window but if I’m Mikel, I wouldn’t be happy with how this window has gone simply because we’ve gone another window where we have not got that forward.

“Mikel has talked about getting players to take us to that level, he did it again after Paris, where we didn’t have that player to break them.

“That is the player Mikel wanted. They chased Vini until the end of the earth and left Morgan Rogers dangling.”

“I think we did need Rogers. You say we have got those types of players but that is what Mikel wanted.

“It is a position where we need that player. Of course, Saka is back, Odegaard is back, Havertz is back and playing together, but he wanted that difference-maker.

“He [Rogers] is the one we were linked with ages ago and he would have loved to have come, I can feel it. There’s something that’s happened with Arsenal with the way they were going for Vini.

“If you’re a player and you see a team going for him, you think, ‘I thought they were interested in me?’ It is the player the manager wanted.

“Chelsea thought, well if you’re not going to pay it, we’ll pay it. I’m gutted, I would have loved him to come.”

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