Arsenal’s January transfer plans are on mute, but there are already rumours flying about the summer.
The ongoing transfer talk around Arsenal right now is that Mikel Arteta wants to sign Marc Guehi.
Despite it being the January window, the Gunners don’t want to sign the defender until the summer, when he becomes a free agent.
Looking towards the summer, it’s not only arrivals that will be anticipated, but departures too, with two already sounded out.
Ben White’s Vinicius Junior fear could come true amid Arsenal transfer rumour
Ben White could leave Arsenal, with Everton credited with having an interest in the Englishman.
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It’s also being reported that Gabriel Martinelli is wanted by Real Madrid, as Los Blancos are at risk of losing Vinicius Junior in the summer.
Another rumour suggests that Arsenal could even consider looking at Vinicius in the summer, which would be a nightmare scenario for White.
It would be just White’s luck that on the year that he leaves Arsenal, the Gunners sign the player he fears the most.
Speaking in 2024, White made it clear that he doesn’t want to face Vinicius, naming the Brazilian as the opponent he’d least like to come up against at right-back.
“I do not want to play against Vinicius Jr! Yeah, no thank you,” he said.
Arsenal wanted to sign Vinicius when Unai Emery was in charge, and if they were to revive such interest in 2026, it could leave White wondering whether he really wants to depart.
Significant Vinicius Junior issue surely rules out Arsenal interest
The idea of coming up against Vinicius in the Premier League could become a reality if the two transfer rumours play out.
The most important thing to take from the sentence above is that they are simply rumours.
Even if Arsenal were to sell Martinelli to Real Madrid, they’d almost certainly turn their heads away from Vinicius, due to his wages.
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Arsenal have already caused a wage imbalance for Manchester United due to Alexis Sanchez’s transfer in 2018, so they won’t want to hit themselves with one of their own.
Capology reports that Vinicius earns £424k-a-week, which is over £100k-a-week more than what Bukayo Saka will earn with his new contract.
Destroying a wage structure is something Arteta will never want to be complicit with, and something, given how well Arsenal are run, is unlikely to happen.
Even for a player of Vinicius’ calibre, some things are better left for dreaming.
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