Arsenal are focused on landing the signature of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior ahead of Ezri Konsa or Julian Alvarez this summer, according to Gazzetta dello Sport (page 24).
The Gunners have had a quiet summer transfer window, and they have made only two outfield signings in Piero Hincapie (buy clause) and Christos Tzolis.
Alongside him, the club have been heavily linked with Vinicius, and Gazzetta dello Sport claim the focus will shift towards the 26-year-old once Guimaraes arrives.
Signing the Real Madrid forward would be a ‘major step’ for the London giants. He is a ‘higher priority’ than Aston Villa defender Konsa or Atletico Madrid striker Alvarez.
Arsenal face a crucial week ahead in transfer activity
Multiple English outlets have reported that Arsenal are close to securing the signature of Guimaraes, but the Gunners have yet to make a formal transfer offer to Newcastle.
The Premier League holders have been speaking to the Magpies’ hierarchy through intermediaries, and a package worth £80 million could be formalised in the next few days.
If that were to happen, the club’s focus could shift to securing an ambitious move for Vinicius, who scored 22 goals and provided 14 assists for Madrid in the 2025/26 season.
The Brazilian is probably the best left-sided winger in the world at the moment, and bringing him to Arsenal would make them frontrunners to defend their league title.
At the moment, Arsenal have not even opened talks with Los Blancos, and much could depend on what Vinicius decides to do. He is scheduled to return to training this morning.
AS (page 1) report the Brazilian will hold face-to-face talks with manager Jose Mourinho, while resuming discussions over a contract, which he has yet to renew beyond June next year.
Vinicius is eyeing a net salary of almost £25.7 million per year, having already turned down a £17m offer. Unless the gap can be significantly closed, he could open the door for a transfer.
This equates to a gross salary of £900,000 per week in the UK. Arsenal won’t make such a huge outlay, and could compensate by offering Vinicius a higher percentage of his image rights.
At Madrid, Vinicius is entitled to 50 percent of his image rights, as per AS. The Gunners could increase the percentage to almost 90 percent with a gross salary of 550,000 weekly, in our view.
