Why did Morgan Rogers snub Arsenal and join Chelsea despite direct talks with Arteta? Report sheds details on decision

Morgan Rogers was in talks with Mikel Arteta all summer, but opted to reject Arsenal and join Chelsea. The Aston Villa star has undergone his medical and will be completing his move to Stamford Bridge this week.

Arteta was keen on signing Rogers this summer and had made him the club’s #1 target. The Gunners were in talks with Aston Villa, after being confident of agreeing terms with the Englishman.

According to The Sun, Rogers changed his mind about moving to Arsenal after a conversation with Xabi Alonso. The new Chelsea manager convinced the Aston Villa star that the Blues are bound to return to the top and that he will play a key role.

The pitch was enough to change the 23-year-old’s mind, and he has now undergone his medical with the Blues. They agreed a £117 million deal with the Villa Park side – a record fee for a British footballer, surpassing the £116 million agreed for Elliot Anderson between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal saw the Englishman as the ideal addition to the left flank, where they had Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. The Belgian has already left the club for Besiktas, while the Brazilian has been put for sale this summer.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho for the left wing spot, and both players were signed last summer. However, they have already put the former Manchester United winger up for sale, and AS Roma are in talks to sign him.

Xabi Alonso wants to take Chelsea back to Europe

Xabi Alonso spoke in his first conference earlier this month, admitting that the main aim this season was to take Chelsea back into European competitions. He said:

“Well, for sure that’s a goal, but to reach that goal you need to do many right things and to be part of that process, how we want to play, how we want to see ourselves and how we want to approach the game, wherever we go, that’s my job.”

“That’s what I’m really looking forward to. We have not the whole squad at the moment, we have some bits, but early days and happy early days so far. For sure we want to be there and time will tell, but we are ambitious to be in Chelsea, we need to share that energy, that ambition and as well that hunger to want to have success.”

The Blues finished 10th in the Premier League last season, after Enzo Maresca quit on New Year’s Day and Liam Rosenior flopped in his 3.5 months at the club.