It’s funny how fast things can change in football, isn’t it? A week ago, Arsenal had just learnt that their number one target, Morgan Rogers, was signing for Chelsea instead.
The Blues agreed a whopping £117m deal to sign the Englishman, a fee that the Gunners were simply not willing to match. They had their own valuation of the player.
Panic among supporters has set in since, even if they did announce the signing of Christos Tzolis in midweek. He looks a handy addition but they need more. How does Vinicius Junior sound?
The news broke on Saturday afternoon that amid missing out on Rogers, Andrea Berta and Co are exploring a deal to sign Vini from Real Madrid.
He has just a year left on his deal in the Spanish capital and they do not want him to leave for free. As a result, there is a very realistic chance that the Brazilian leaves the Bernabeu.
Why Arsenal want to sign Vinicius Junior
After the Champions League final, Mikel Arteta issued a rallying call for more ambition. Thus, when they missed out on Rogers, a key target, he won’t have been too pleased.
Little did we know, however, that the Gunners would be in the conversation to sign Vinicius Junior. Just a few years ago he was described as “the best in the world” by Jude Bellingham and came second in the race to Rodri for the Ballon d’Or.
Since then, the great Brazilian’s stock has fallen a little bit but he is still widely regarded as one of the game’s biggest superstars. He proved as much during the World Cup when he scored four goals in five games for the Selecao.
Arsenal need to make an elite addition to their forward line this summer and they need a ceiling raiser. Leandro Trossard has left for Besiktas, Gabriel Martinelli only scored once in the Premier League last season and it remains to be seen just how good Tzolis will be in Arsenal colours.
He registered an assist in a behind closed doors friendly against MK Dons on Saturday, a game they won 3-0, but he is unproven at the elite level. Vinicius Junior is the opposite.
The 26-year-old is one of the most dangerous players in the world and has scored over 20 goals in each of his last five seasons at Madrid. He’s also produced over ten assists in all but one of those campaigns. He is a game-changer, one of the most iconic players in world football.
Signing him would be absolutely extraordinary, but might there be an even better signing lying out there? Quite possibly.
Arsenal’s dream Vinicius Junior alternative
In their quest to bolster the forward line, Arsenal have earmarked plenty of attacking players from the likes of Eli Junior Kroupi at Bournemouth to Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez.
The latter has been described as a “dream target” this summer and would be quite the coup if they were able to beat Barcelona and Real Madrid to his signature.
If they could get their hands on him and Vinicius Junior, it would be simply jaw-dropping. It would be an unprecedented transfer window for the Gunners.
Also on their radar, according to TEAMtalk, is Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise. He has attracted the interest of plenty of English clubs, most notably Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. For now, however, his preference would be to move to LaLiga where Real have already made it clear they would like to sign him. Perhaps he could be Madrid’s Vinicius Junior replacement?
However, how do they compare? Well, over the last year, it is Olise who comes out on top. In the words of Bayern teammate Harry Kane, he is “the best winger in the world” at the moment. He is even more electrifying, even more productive than Vini Jr and that is saying something.
Olise vs Vini Jr in 2025/26 | ||
|---|---|---|
Stats (* = per 90 league only) | Olise | Vini Jr |
Goals | 22 | 22 |
Assists | 26 | 10 |
Shots * | 3.92 | 3.22 |
Big chance involvement * | 1.67 | 0.70 |
Open play expected assists * | 0.60 | 0.18 |
Successful dribbles * | 2.52 | 2.77 |
Progressive actions * | 12.93 | 11.60 |
Progressive carries * | 6.53 | 8.25 |
Progressive passes * | 6.41 | 3.35 |
Tackles & interceptions * | 1.52 | 0.77 |
Ball recoveries * | 4.22 | 3.31 |
In the Brazilian, you would get a player with immense output, someone who ranks as one of the best dribblers and carriers of a ball in world football. He’s an absolute menace for full-backs to deal with.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
However, Olise is even more terrifying. He may not carry the ball quite as regularly as Vini but he is still elite in that department, ranking closely for successful dribbles per 90 minutes.
In every other important metric for a wide player, the Frenchman is the better player based on the last year of football. The rate at which he provides goalscoring opportunities for his teammates is simply jaw-dropping. He managed as many as 26 assists last term.
Furthermore, he’ll also give you more defensively than Vinicius Junior. One of the only negatives about the Madrid superstar would be his work rate. Olise, on the other hand, makes far more ball recoveries, as well as tackles and interceptions.
Based on that, he would be the perfect player for Arteta. He’s cut from a very similar cloth to Bukayo Saka and as he showed during the World Cup, could also operate as a number 10 behind the striker. In that regard, he’s a bit more versatile than Vini.
That being said, if Arsenal could get their hands on either winger it would be remarkable.
