I am seeing a lot of fans write us off this season due to a “lack of transfer activity” and missing out on Vinicius Jr.
Despite lots of injures last season, we dragged ourselves over the line and won the league. We were also a couple of penalty kicks away from winning the Champions League. This all whilst key players were clearly running out of steam.
We have kept 95% of the league winning squad together. The only key departure being Leandro Trossard, who has been replaced by the exciting Christos Tzolis. The issue of overplaying Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi has also been resolved through the brilliant recruitment of Bruno Guimaraes.
Add in Viktor Gyokeres having a year of Premier League under his belt, Myles Lewis Skelly coming on leaps and bounds, and Eberechi Eze having a year of Mikel Arteta coaching in him. Simply put, we are stronger than we were 12 months ago.
Now let’s look at out rivals…
Pep Guardiola has left Man City. The experienced Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Nathan Ake have also gone. Rodri will be next. That’s not just losing a couple of squad players. it’s losing some of the key leaders of the Pep era, as well as the man himself.
Liverpool have lost Mo Salah. He single handedly won them the league 2 seasons ago. Ibrahima Konate has also gone. Cody Gakpo could be next. Throw in a new manager and Virgil van Dijk being nearly 40 and they could be set for a few years of rebuild.
Then we have Chelsea. They have done what Chelsea do. Sell a lot. Buy a lot. New manager, 11 new players. Their fans will hype them up again. And again it will take new players time to settle, a new manager time to impart new ideas. Building relationships takes time.
Manchester United are an interesting one. Michael Carrick stabilised them last year but how far can he take them? Their midfield still looks weak, and Bruno will need to have another unplayable season for them to compete. Unlike Arsenal, they do not have players who can take the onus of their star man.
So yes, we might not have done the business sow would have wanted (yet). But we are also the only top side not to have lost key players.
Rodri, Salah, Cucerella. These are huge players to lose. Not easy to replace.
For the next few weeks, and maybe longer, Arsenal will be the but of opposing fans “banter” having missed out on Vinicius Jr.
The truth is, there is no shame in going to Real Madrid and failing to sign one of their best players. Arsenal were close. Very close. And in the end Madrid had to offer Vinicius Jr “huge money” to keep him.
There is no debate that Real Madrid are the biggest club in world football. A team that almost every player would love to play for in their career. Their pull is huge, as is the salaries they can pay. And they have a history of going into the elite English clubs and plucking whichever stars they want.
Liverpool have, for a long time, been a place Real Madrid shop for free. Quite ironic when you consider Liverpool fans have a history of not paying when in Europe!
In 1999, Madrid signed Steve McManaman for nothing from Liverpool. McManaman became the first high-profile English player to leave a club on a free transfer via the Bosman ruling. Since then, they have repeated the trick with Trent Alexander Arnold (although they did pay a nominal fee to get him before the Club world Cup) and, this summer, Ibrahima Konaté.
Real Madrid also signed Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen from Liverpool and Xabi Alonso.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the best player in the world when Real Madrid decided they wanted him. They paid a then world record £80m to secure their man. the fact that Man U had won 3 Premier League titles in a row, a Champions League the previous summer, and were the richest club in the world at that point was not enough to keep Ronaldo out of the grasp of Madrid.
Before Ronaldo, there was David Beckham.
At the time, the Englishman was the biggest name in football. Real Madrid wanted the boyhood Man U fan. They got him. Thus proving that is did not really matter about your ties to the club, the money you could pay or success you were having, if Madrid wanted your players they almost always got them.
And the same happened when Real Madrid wanted Eden Hazard. They had no issues recruiting Chelsea’s best player – although the transfer did end up as a bit of a disaster.
Thibaut Courtois is another Madrid poached from Chelsea. He was arguably the best keeper in the world at the time and he basically refused to turn up to training to force through the move, despite playing for Madrid’s city rivals Atletico previously.
And what Madrid have done to Liverpool on numerous occasions, they have also done to Chelsea – signing Antonio Rudiger on a free.
Following the signing of Luka Modric, Daniel Levy announced that Tottenham had agreed a special partnership with Real Madrid. That partnership involved Madrid returning two years later to sign Gareth Bale. In exchanged, Tottenham could send youngsters to Madrid on summer camps.
It is only really Manchester City who have avoided being invaded by Real Madrid. Their only big dealing was signing Robinho for Madrid in a transfer that kicked off the Abu Dhabi era.
As for Arsenal, we famously sold Nicolas Anelka to Real Madrid back in 1999. Le Sulk manufacturing a move that ended up paying for a new training ground and opened a door for us to sign Thierry Henry a year later. The other two big deals involving the clubs were Arsenal signing Mesut Ozil and Martin Odegaard. Ozil at the time being one of the best midfielders in the world and Odegaard being one of the most highly rated young midfielders.
In the last 12 months, we have reportedly rebuffed Madrid’s advances for William Saliba and Ricardo Calafiori. We said no. the players said. It is the same as what has happened with Vinicius Jr.
So whilst we may lick our wounds about not signing Vini Jr, we can sleep easily knowing that whilst we are trying to sign Madrid’s best players, the Spanish giants have a history of signing the best players from our rivals.
We all wake up this morning with a tinge of disappointment following yesterday’s news that Vinicius Jr had agreed to extend his stay at Real Madrid.
The move for Vini Jr was always an ambitious one. He is one of the best players in the world playing for the biggest club in the world. If players the stature of Vini Jr come onto the market, we need to be on the conversation – even if we do not complete the deal.
It does feel like we were played a bit. Vini’s people flirted heavily with us which led to Madrid massively increasing their contract offer. Was that their plan all along?
Other fans will gloat about this for a few days. But ultimately we have not lost out on him anymore than Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool or Man U. I am sure they all would have enquired about him. We were just closest to getting him. And on the end he opted to stay at Madrid.
Having pivoted from Morgan Rogers to focus on Vini, I guess the question is where do we turn to next? And one name that has come up on my search is Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala.
Musiala is one of the most gifted footballers of his generation. Blessed with exceptional dribbling ability, close control, creativity, and intelligence, he possesses the rare quality of being able to decide games on his own.
Still only 23, he has already demonstrated his talent at the highest level, excelling in the Bundesliga, the Champions League, and on the international stage. His ability to glide past defenders in tight spaces makes him one of Europe’s most dangerous attacking midfielders.
One of Arsenal’s biggest strengths under Arteta is their positional play and technical quality. Every player is expected to be comfortable in possession, capable of making quick decisions, and intelligent enough to adapt to different tactical situations. Musiala fits this philosophy perfectly.
For Munich, Musiala plays primarily as a number 10, but he has the versatility to play on either wing and could be the perfect man to play off the left, coming inside ala Robert Pires.
A key reason Musiala would be a perfect alternative to Vini Jr is his ability to unlock stubborn defences.
Over the past few seasons, Arsenal have faced teams that defend deeper and deeper, with ten or eleven players behind the ball. This will only get worse now we are Champions.
Musiala’s willingness to dribble directly at defenders forces opponents to leave their shape, creating space for teammates to exploit. Few players in world football can eliminate multiple defenders with one run as consistently as Musiala.
The German would provide another elite creative outlet, making Arsenal far less predictable and far more difficult to defend against.
Musiala’s chemistry with Arsenal’s existing players could be exceptional. His quick combinations and intelligent movement would complement Martin Ødegaard’s vision and passing range. Declan Rice’s defensive presence would allow Musiala the freedom to attack without constantly worrying about defensive responsibilities. Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres and Saka would benefit from the additional space created by Musiala’s dribbling, giving Arsenal multiple avenues to break down opposition defences.
Beyond his technical ability, Musiala has shown remarkable composure in high-pressure situations.
Playing for one of Europe’s biggest clubs comes with enormous expectations, yet he consistently performs on the biggest stages.
Arsenal are building a squad capable of winning major trophies, and players who thrive under pressure are essential for achieving that goal. Musiala’s experience in title races and knockout football would strengthen Arsenal’s mentality as much as their technical quality.
Of course, signing Musiala would not be straightforward. He would command a substantial transfer fee and significant wages.
Bayern Munich have every reason to try and retain one of their most valuable assets, meaning Arsenal would likely need to make one of the biggest offers in their history. But we have shown with Vini Jr that we have the money when it comes to the right player.
Ultimately, Jamal Musiala represents the type of transformative signing that can elevate a very good team into a great one.
He combines creativity, technical brilliance, versatility, intelligence, and experience despite his young age.
Arsenal already possess a strong foundation, but adding a player of Musiala’s calibre could provide the extra quality needed to win the Premier League and compete seriously for the Champions League. If the opportunity to sign him ever became realistic, Arsenal should do everything possible to make the transfer happen.
Musiala could be the perfect alternative having missed out on Vinicius Jr
