Mikel Arteta has taken personal ownership of Arsenal’s pursuit of Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr as the Gunners look to make a huge splash in the transfer market.
The Brazil winger has less than 12 months remaining on his Madrid contract and, despite the issue rumbling on for well over a year, there is still no sign of the Spanish giants persuading him to agree to a renewal.
Vinicius Jr is reported to be unsure whether he will be key to the new Madrid under Jose Mourinho after two trophyless seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu. And while the club are desperate to retain one of their key assets, the fact they are not willing to meet the 26-year-old’s wage demands means the door is ajar for a move away.
That has alerted Arsenal and Spanish daily AS are reporting Arteta is so eager to prise Vinicius Jr out of the Spanish capital, he has become actively involved in the club’s pitch.
AS suggest Arteta has made it clear to the player’s camp that he would be central to Arsenal’s longer-term ambitions as they look to take the next step from Premier League champions to European champions.
Arsenal reached the final of the Champions League last season but their limitations were exposed with a dreadfully negative performance against Paris Saint-Germain that suggested Arteta was not convinced his side was good enough to go toe-to-toe with Luis Enrique’s men.
The signing of Vinicius, who is expected back in Madrid on Monday after a summer spent at the World Cup and undergoing chin reconstruction, would alter that dynamic and give greater gravitas to what Arsenal are trying to achieve.
We are ambitious, says Arsenal boss Arteta when asked about Vinicius Jr
Asked specifically about Vinicius Jr following Saturday evening’s 4-1 win in Spain against Girona, Arteta refused to divulge too much but confirmed the Gunners were looking to make significant steps forward this summer.
“We are very active, trying to improve and evolve the team,” the Spaniard said. “That’s clear. We expect to have movements in the next few weeks because we want to get better, like anybody else.
“You can just see the transfer market and our opponents and what they are doing. We are very ambitious with what we want to do.
“The margins are very small and if we want to get better, the level is going to increase. We need to increase the competition internally.
“We need to make sure that we identify the things we don’t have in the team to have bigger margins. That’s the way we have to think.
“We have even more responsibility and ambition than before. We know what is ahead; we know the qualities and capacity we have to compete with any team, but we need to prove that we belong at this level [of champions] now.”
Diomande could, eventually, be Vinicius Jr replacement at Madrid
Losing Vinicius Jr would be a major blow to Madrid, although they appear set to have a ready-made replacement in Yan Diomande.
The transfer of the Ivory Coast international to the Bernabeu is being held up due to an issue with a former agent, according to reports, but the 19-year-old RB Leipzig winger is still expected to be a Madrid player by the time they get their Liga season underway at Espanyol on August 22.
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