After a huge flirtation with The arsenal, Vinicius Jr now has a an improved contract offer from Real Madrid to ponder.

There was always a risk that Vini Jr’s representatives were using Arsenal to try and force Madrid’s hand after more than a year of stalemate over his new contract. Whether the new deal is enough to keep the Brazilian in Spain is still a case of “wait and see”, but the it feels like he is more liekly to sign right now than leave.

So where does that leave Arsenal, having stepped away from Morgan Rogers to chase Vinicius Jr?

Firstly, I must caveat that whilst I would be disappointed to miss out on Vini Jr, I would prefer to be trying to sign the best players in the world than not be in the market for them. We are Premier League champions. Champions League finalists. We need to be aiming to sign ceiling raisers like Vini Jr now.

Since Dennis Bergkamp, we have probably only signed three players who could have been considered amongst the best in the world when they joined – Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Declan Rice.

Go nowhere

It might only be two pre-season friendlies in, but new boy Christos Tzolis looks sharp.

Beyond a few YouTube clips, it is unlikely anyone had watched much of the Greek winger prior to signing. His name only really ringing a bell from when Norwich City signed him as a youngster. Signed to replace Leandro Trossard, Tzolis has shown real quality in his two appearances so far.

Missing out on Vini whilst securing Tzolis could end up as impactful as missing out on Mykhailo Mudryk and signing Trossard. That all worked out well…

Alongside Tzolis we still have Gabriel Martinelli.

Vinicius Jr’s “understudy” for Brazil provides the raw pace that only really Noni Madueke also gives the squad. Still only 25, his contract runs out in a year, but Arsenal do retain an option to extend for a further 12-months.

Having Tzolis and Martinelli means we do not need to rush into the transfer market. If the right player is not available at the right pace, we have that option to stick.

Hijack Bradley Barcola

The PSG winger has been heavily linked to a move to Liverpool for £100m.

Arsenal were reportedly looking at Bradley Barcola this summer, but opted to firstly prioritise Rogers, and then switch to Vinicius Jr. That double snub may make it hard to go in late for Barcola, with the Frenchman knowing that he was basically our 3rd choice. But money talks in football.

Personally I do not want to see us splash £100m on Barcola. He is basically a French Martinelli who relies on running into space behind, and has fairly average shooting and crossing. It would feel a bit “Emperors new clothes” if we cashed in on Martinelli and signed Barcola.

Go young

If the decision is still to sell Martinelli this summer, the door may still be open for a couple of youngsters.

The first name to spring to mind is Kenan Yildiz. I have long been a fan of the Juventus player and he looks ready to break out as the next global superstar.

Antonio Nusa is another youngster we have been linked with. Another bright prospect but maybe a bit too raw for us right now. In a bit of an oddity, in 2024 Club Brugge sold Nusa to RB Leipzig. His replacement was some Greek fella from Norwich City.

Another name that has popped up a couple of times this summer is Mika Godts. Like Nusa, he looks too raw. It is also likely that he will join PSG to replace Barcola.

Other than Yildiz, I think many of the youngsters we have been linked to are just to raw, and not on the level of Martinelli. We would be better off keeping our pockets filled and monitor them for a further year to see who may break out. Even if that costs us more.

Back to Julian Alvarez

I was never sold by the Julian Alvarez deal. I think he is overrated.

Like Gabriel Jesus, his best performances in the Premier League came as cameos off the bench. He is not really a striker, not really a midfielder, not really a number 10. It would be huge money for a player who we would not really have the space for.

Mikel Arteta seems to like him though….

A Real Madrid loan?

If Vinicius Jr stays and Yan Diomande signs, Real Madrid will have arguably the best front 3 in world football alongside Kylian Mbappe. But their back-up players might be looking, wondering where they may get their opportunity.

We were linked heavily with Rodrgyo a year ago. Could there be a loan with an option to buy opportunity here? Brahim Diaz is another who may consider his future lies elsewhere. and then you have Endrick and Franco Mastantuono.

Not too long ago, the teenage pair were considered the future of Real Madrid. But their pathway has just become a little more complicated due to Diomande’s impending signing. And the Ivorian is still teenager himself.

If we have not upset Real Madrid with our pursuit of Vinicius Jr, could we go back to them and secure one of their other forwards on loan for the season? One to watch maybe.

Jamal Musiala

An outside bet…

What do you think Arsenal should do if Vinicius Jr stays at Real Madrid? Leave us a comment

Keenos

As it stands, Arsenal has a 30-man 1^st team training squad.

The 30-man figure includes Myles Lewis Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman, Tommy Setford and Marli Salmon. All of whom, under Premier League rules, will not requiring registering.

That leaves Mikel Arteta with a 25-man “senior first team squad”. That is bang on the nose for the maximum amount of players we need to register.

To cut a long story short, when Bruno Guimaraes signs, we need to sell to make the space for him.

As it stands, we have 16 non-home grown senior players and 9 home grown. That is a positive as it means we are not restricted by who we need to sell (or not register). The outgoing playing could either be Home Grown (HG) or Non-Home Grown (NHG). Remember, you may have no more than 17 NHG players in your squad.

The only minor headache comes is Bruno will take up a NHG player spot. That will result in us having to sell a NHG player further down the line if we want to make space for someone like Vinicius Jr.

Christian Norgaard is likely to join Everton in the upcoming days. By the time I hit publish that move might already be confirmed (as might the deal for Bruno). His departure is a good one as he takes up a NHG spot.

Norgaard out, Bruno in keeps the status quo. And then we are back to where we are now where we would need to sell either a HG or NHG player to make the space for Vinicius Jr (other left wingers are available). Not a hard task when we have players who are surplus to requirements.

The biggest issue for Arteta is not how many players he has registered, but how big the squad is. 30 is simply too many regardless of whether 5 need to be registered or not.

Over the rest of the summer, I think Arteta will look to get the squad down to 25 or 26. That will mean 6 or 7 exits after Bruno and a left winger sign.

Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Jesus are the next 3 men after Norgaard whose heads are on the chopping board. They would take us down to 28. Management may also consider Marli Salmon as part of the first team squad – and the youngster may only do occassional training with the first team.

We would still need to sell two or three to bring that squad size down to 25 or 26. Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri are the most likely candidates. And maybe both.

Two coming in takes us to 32.
Jesus, Vieira, Norgaard and Nelson drops us to 28.
Salmon being a fringe player takes us to 27.
Martinelli and / or Nwaneri going takes us to 25 or 26.

That is where Arteta will want us to be, and why perhaps we are looking to cash in on Nwaneri.

I like Nwaneri, but it is hard to see how he will get game time with Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze ahead of him centrally. I still shake my head in despair when fans comment he is better than both. That is agenda drive.

Were Odegaard and Eze to both get injured, Arteta would still have Kai Havertz, Mikel Merino and Bruno who can all play in that more advanced position. There would also be the option of Bukayo Saka coming inside (I have long been a believer that we may see a transition of Saka coming inside and Max Dowman playing outside in 2-3 years).

On the right hand side, we have Saka and Noni Madueke. Again, there is no debate that Nwaneri is at their standard (although again some will try and make the case that he is). You also have Max Dowman.

Nwaneri is potentially the victim of a better player coming through, in his position, who is younger. Henri Lansbury had this when Jack Wilshere broke through.

We need to be careful with Dowman, but if we are looking to give 5-600 minutes to an attacking teenager next season then they should go to the younger man. Downman already looks to be on Nwaneri’s level despite being nearly 3 years younger.

Nwaneri leaving would give Arteta the option to keep Martinelli. He may well have a place to play in the squad as an attacker through the middle, offering pace and unpredictability. Martinelli could certainly replace Jesus as the 3rd striker option. But if a big enough offer comes in he could be off.

A final one to watch out for is Mikel Merino. It is hard to see where he fits in with Bruno’s signing, beyond being Zubimendi’s support blanket. It might not be this summer, but I think Merino will be off next.

Overall, the squad is in a great place. We are building on last years Championship winning side, reducing the minutes of Rice and Zubimendi, and could end up with that magical left winger we have craved for a couple of years.

Exits next…

Keenos

When the season ended, almost every Arsenal fan had their list of players they expected to leave, and one player was found of nearly everyone’s list. Ben White.

It was not that fans did not rate Ben White. We did. But the expectation was that White himself would want to depart us to return to playing regular first team football again.

White will turn 29 in October and, in the last two seasons, has found himself on the fringes of Arsenal’s first team. Part due to injury, and part due to him not being able to displace the excellent Jurrien Timber.

Having seen some game time towards the back end of last season, White looked destined for a last minute seat on the plan out to the 2026 World Cup. And then injury hit again.

That spell in the Arsenal first team would have reminded White that he is good enough to play week in week out for a top Premier League side, and also force his way back into England contention now that Gareth Southgate had departed. But he could only do so if he left Arsenal.

Ben White would have walked into the first XI of the likes of Aston Villa and Manchester United. It is only really Arsenal and Manchester City where he would not be a guarantee starter. So it was highly expected that, if he got himself fit, Arsenal would look to cash in.

The deal would have benefited both Arsenal and White – The Englishman returns to regular first team football for a team playing in Europe, Arsenal get £40m+ which they could reinvest into a new, younger right back, without injury concerns and who may be a different profile.

Many theorised that we needed an attack minded right back who could compliment the more defensive Jurrien Timber, and that this could become an attacking substitute option for Mikel Arteta when chasing a game.

Role on a few months and it is increasingly looking like Ben White still has a role to play at Arsenal. And the feeling is that he happy with that role.

With William Saliba set for a long-term absence due to his back, it seemed that Arsenal pivoted transfer strategy.

Rather than going for an out and out right back such as Marco Palestra or Iván Fresneda, Arsenal began looking at someone who could be an option at both right back and centre back. Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa was the man earmarked for the role.

Konsa would have been able to come in and be Saliba’s replacement in the short term, whilst also covering for both Saliba and Timber in the long-term. But that thinking has now shifted again.

Why spend money on someone like Konsa when we have someone in the squad who is more than capable of playing at right back and centre back, and able to be an attacking, overlapping option? That man is Ben White.

In his early days at Arsenal, White played centrally alongside Gabriel. He looked excellent and he is certainly a Premier League level centre back.

As Saliba came into the team, taking us to another level, White moved to right back. For a time he was one of the best right backs in the league and formed a deadly combination going forward with Bukayo Saka. Some would argue that Saka has lost a little since White stopped playing and offering that overlapping option.

So we have a fella who is a proven Premier League right back and centre back. The only issue was he seemingly wanted away. At 29 this would have been his chance to get one big contract and play regularly at the top level for the next 3 or 4 years. But it looks like White may have changed his mind and is no longer a wantawaystar.

Due to his injury, White had a rest this summer and he returned against Girona looking fit and healthy, also captaining the side. And he can see what is ahead of him.

With Saliba out, and Timber having his own injury concerns, White is likely to be our in starting XI come Coventry – either at centre back or at right back. My bet is (based on the Girona line-up), White will start at right back with Cristhian Mosquera inside him.

The decision to keep White will result in us not needing to spend on a new right back come centre back. That in turn leaves more in the cash pot to finance moves for Bruno and Vinicius Jr.

So we keep a top right back who can also play centre back, and make a couple more big money signings. Everyone is happy.

Then come January, if Saliba is fit and White back on the periphery, we may look to sell and replace. Or the likelihood is if we are chasing trophies, White will want to remain part of that and then next summer both parties will explore whether it is in their best interests to call it a day.

For now though, I do not think Ben White is going to leave Arsenal. And I am happy with that.

Keenos