Arsenal’s priority this summer has been to bring in a level-raising left winger.
Fabrizio Romano has guaranteed that Arsenal will sign a top winger, with Morgan Rogers and Bradley Barcola the two options the Gunners are mainly considering.
But Aston Villa want £130million for Rogers, and Barcola will likely cost even more than that. Both come with huge question marks attached.
🤔 PICK ONE: Would you rather Arsenal signed Bradley Barcola or Morgan Rogers this summer?
So here is a thought. Why not test the waters for Vinicius Junior?
Hear me out.
Arsenal should make ambitious approach for Vinicius Junior
Vinicius is without question one of the very best players in the world, possibly the best left winger on the planet. And he might well be available this summer.
The Brazilian superstar’s future is uncertain at Real Madrid, with his contract now entering its final year.
Yes, he will cost a fortune — probably north of £200million in transfer fee and wages combined. Yes, he will become Arsenal’s highest-paid player by some distance. Yes, he has the kind of ego Mikel Arteta has historically avoided. Those are fair concerns.
But consider the upside.
The transfer market has lost all sense. A player like Morgan Rogers, as good as he is, is not worth £130million. Even he admits as much himself.
And is he really a natural fit for the left wing role in Arteta’s side? He doesn’t even get ahead of Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford for England.
Then there’s Barcola, whose end product is inconsistent and nobody knows how quickly he would adapt to the Premier League.
With Vinicius, there are no such questions. He is the finished article.
Arsenal signing Vinicius Junior would kill two birds with one stone
It’s well-documented that Real Madrid’s dream signing is Erling Haaland.
If Arsenal hand them the mega money for Vinicius, Madrid have the ammunition to go and get him from Manchester City.
🏆 Fill in the blank: I am ___% confident Arsenal can retain our Premier League title next season…
In what is a terrifying prospect, they could shift Kylian Mbappe to the left and play Haaland down the middle, giving them a true proper centre forward.
Arsenal would not just be strengthening themselves but they could directly play a role in weakening their closest title rival.
That is worth the outlay alone. The Gunners would be well set to dominate the Premier League for years to come.
Not only that, but the guaranteed success of Vinicius would propel Arsenal to finally claim their elusive Champions League title.
He is exactly the calibre of attacker that Arteta’s side are crying out for, and as Premier League champions, this is their best chance to make such a statement signing in years.
Will it happen? Probably not. But at least test the waters.
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