The African Cup of Nations has gone through a major scheduling change which Arsenal and their rivals need to be aware of

Arsenal have had some legendary African players through the decades. From Kolo Toure to Kanu and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Gunners have benefited and won major honours thanks to the contribution of stars from the continent.

However, domestic European football has been impacted regularly by the presence of the African Cup of Nations. Due to the hot temperatures, AFCON has often been rescheduled to the cooler winter months, such as most recently in 2025, when the tournament took place from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026.

Arsenal did not have any players involved in the competition but benefited from facing opponents who were without some of their key stars. Liverpool were without Mohamed Salah when the Reds drew 0-0 with the soon-to-be champions at the Emirates Stadium, while Brighton were without key midfielder Carlos Baleba, who has since joined Manchester United.

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Since the departure of Thomas Partey in the summer of 2025, the Gunners have so far yet to add an African player to the group. There have been links with the likes of Christian Kofane, the 19-year-old Cameroonian striker, and prior to Manchester City’s successful acquisition, there was interest in Ayyoub Bouaddi of Morocco.

The AFCON had proposed changing to a quadrennial tournament like the Euros from a biennial event. However, last month, the decision was made to continue the tournament every two years.

There will be tournaments in 2027 and 2028 before a break for the 2030 World Cup, which will be hosted in part in Africa, with Morocco as a joint host with Spain and Portugal. The next AFCON after 2028 will be in 2031, followed by 2033.

With no AFCON games this season, Arsenal will therefore not benefit from any of their winter opponents losing stars. Baleba’s aforementioned move to Man Utd would potentially have seen him miss the clash with Arsenal, with the sides set to meet at the Emirates on December 20 – as would potentially have their key forward Bryan Mbeumo.

Arsenal’s interest in African players shows by no means that they have strategically avoided signing African players due to the AFCON presence. The winter and summer windows are sure to see the Gunners look at many of the top stars to bolster their ranks, and many talents from Africa are sure to be on the club’s list.