Arsenal’s pursuit of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior continues to dominate the transfer conversation, though their chances of signing him this summer appear to have taken a knock.
Real Madrid reportedly do not want to sell the Brazilian winger and are willing to let his contract run down rather than cash in now.
However, football.london understands it is too soon to guarantee Vinicius will remain at the Bernabeu, with talks ongoing to determine his future.
Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Santi Canizares offered a pointed assessment of the situation, speaking on COPE’s Tiempo de Juego programme, saying: “Real Madrid are late with everything. If it’s true that he doesn’t have a signed agreement, Real Madrid have an obligation to sell him. You can’t lose 100 or 100-plus million euros by letting a player’s contract expire.”
Vinicius’ long-time representative Frederico Pena has previously stated his client would only leave Real Madrid for a Premier League club, which positions Arsenal as the frontrunner.
Should a summer deal collapse, Arsenal could return for the winger on a free transfer next year, though that would complicate their immediate title defence plans.
In the meantime, ESPN Brazil’s Bruno Andrade has revealed that a centre-back signing is expected to be completed even before a deal for Bruno Guimaraes, saying: “Arsenal are close to signing a centre-back to solve, for now, the issue created by Saliba’s injury. It’s really imminent.”
William Saliba’s back injury is expected to sideline him for the first half of the season, prompting Arsenal to explore options including Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa, though Villa are reportedly frustrated by what they consider a low opening offer.
On the Guimaraes front, ESPN Brazil has reported that while Arsenal’s latest offer of £70m plus £5m in add-ons falls short of Newcastle’s valuation, both clubs expect an agreement to eventually be reached.
Mikel Arteta has addressed the club’s transfer activity directly, confirming to Arsenal’s official media: “A lot is happening. We all know about the context of this transfer window. From ownership to the board, the sporting director and myself, we know that we want to take this club to a different level.”
Arteta added: “We have identified where we have opportunities to grow and to improve and to evolve our game and what is going to be needed to achieve that. Hopefully very soon we can start to put things in a very concrete way.”
The Arsenal manager has also confirmed he has held conversations with Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres, and Piero Hincapie as those players prepare to return from their World Cup commitments.
Arteta previously described the club’s Premier League title parade as “probably the best football experience that I’ve had,” adding: “This has to be the start and this has to be the standard. Excellence has to be our standard and this has to drive to attack the future.”
Lille striker Matias Fernandez-Pardo has reportedly submitted a transfer request despite club president Olivier Letang insisting: “The player is under contract until 2029, and his departure is not an issue. We are counting on him.”
Arsenal have reportedly identified Christian Pulisic, Ibrahim Mbaye, Brahim Diaz, and Antonio Nusa as backup options should their pursuit of Vinicius fail to progress.
Jurrien Timber has returned to London from the club’s pre-season camp in Spain for a pre-planned medical appointment related to his groin injury, though BBC Sport reports no setback has occurred and he will rejoin the group shortly.
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