Leão-Arsenal? Why Arteta should not entertain the idea of bringing the inconsistent prima donna to London and avoid buyer's remorse

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By Alessandro Schiavone

Rafa Leao showed Premier League clubs that he’s far from being a fading force after setting up Gonçalo Ramos’ winning goal against Croatia in Toronto yesterday.

In extra-time, the mercurial Portuguese maverick star looked up and picked out his new AC Milan teammate Ramos with an inch-perfect delivery into a crowded box.

During the game he was a real handful for Croatia’s defence, who just couldn’t live with his darting runs and bursts of accelerations. He even rattled the crossbar with a thunderbolt from distance.

Yet that’s as good as it got for him in 2026 on the back of a lacklustre season with the club's highest-paid player inevitably carrying the can for Milan missing out on the Champions League for a second year running.

If Massimiliano Allegri of all people couldn’t get through to him, then who can?

Perhaps a fresh start elsewhere is exactly what the 27-year-old needs to rediscover the energy and consistency he needs to kickstart his declining club career.

One might be tempted to think that Mikel Arteta, in the market for a new winger to replace Trossard in the starting XI, can get him fit and firing again.

However there's enough evidence suggesting that the Basque should take his hands off Leão after his punts on William, David Luiz and Raheem Sterling backfired.

In the build-up to the World Cup, Leão floated the possibility of a move to England telling reporters that he was eyeing a new challenge after seven years in Serie A.

And yesterday’s eye-catching performance strengthened his case of pursuing his career in the Premier League, the division he’s desperate to play in.

Milan value him at €60m- but that would be hitting the jackpot.

On the evidence of his last two seasons, Rossoneri fans would bite your hand off for a lot less than that.

However goal-shy Elliot Anderson has inflated the market by joining City for double that fee.

And if RF10 can spearhead Portugal’s World Cup bid and help Cristiano Ronaldo retire with the only trophy he’s lacking then Milan could be looking to bank a lot more than that.

Remember when Enzo Fernandez’s heroic performances in Qatar laid the foundations for Messi to win the biggest prize in football , convincing big-spenders with money to burn Chelsea to pay £120m to acquire his services?

Up until the World Cup, not many outside of Argentina or Benfica had heard his name as Enzo quit boyhood club River Plate for a bargain £10k three months beforehand.

Yet with Spain and potentially France up next before final against either Brazil, England or Argentina that's blind optimism.

Besides doubts persist as to whether Arteta can get a tune out of the ex-Lille star on a regular basis.

Countrymen Sergio Conceicao and Paulo Fonseca’s attempts of doing just that failed miserably.

Likewise, Arteta doesn’t just need a left winger capable of beating his man and scoring a few wonder goals every now and then.

He needs someone he can trust week-in, week-out. Someone who works his socks off out of possession and puts the team first.

Is Leão that type of footballer?

No, he's a player of moments who picks his games based on their importance and how he feels on a given day. More often than not his heart isn't in it and he gives up easily if some dribbles and shots early in the came don't come off.

On top of that he costs and earns a king's ransom.

After firing Milan to the Scudetto in 2022, not many would raise an eyebrow if he does the same by clinching glory with Portugal this time around.

However it's also not lost on observers in Italian football that after that accomplishment four years ago, complacency set in with the player failing to recapture his form subsequently.

Far and away his mood swings are just too big a gamble for a club looking to retain the Premier League crown and lift the elusive Champions League next year.

The World Cup has a habit of sensationalising performances and inflating transfer fees — and nobody at the Emirates Stadium wants buyer’s remorse.

After all, one swallow doesn't make a spring.