Arsenal is getting ready for a big team shake-up to bring in Vinicius Jr and Bruno Guimaraes.
Arsenal are reportedly ready to make some big changes in their squad to land both Vinicius Junior and Bruno Guimaraes this summer.
French newspaper L’Equipe shared on Friday that Arsenal have agreed on a £77 million deal with Newcastle for Brazil midfielder Guimaraes. Lyon, his former club, would get 20% of the profit since they sold him for around £40 million in 2022. However, Newcastle has questioned these reports, but The Chronicle says Guimaraes will have important talks with the club when pre-season starts on Monday.
The Vinicius deal looks trickier. The Brazilian winger has just one year left on his contract at Real Madrid. Both Vinicius and Real are talking about a new deal but haven’t agreed yet. According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, there are still big differences in money, but Vinicius may be willing to lower his demands. If they can’t agree, Arsenal are ready to step in and could make him their highest-paid player ever.
Vinicius currently earns about €18 million a year after tax (around £300,000 a week) at Real Madrid. Arsenal are said to be ready to break their usual pay rules to sign him. Real will meet with Vinicius again when pre-season begins on Sunday.
The Independent reports that Arsenal want to sell some players to make space for these signings, and are open to offers for five players. Christian Norgaard is close to moving to Everton, another Premier League club. Arsenal also seem ready to slim down their attack, with Gabriel Martinelli possibly being sold to make room for Vinicius on the left side. Striker Viktor Gyokeres might also be sold, which would be a surprise. Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Jesus could also leave if Guimaraes and Vinicius join the team.
Before Arsenal’s 4-1 pre-season win against Girona on Saturday, manager Mikel Arteta was asked about chasing Vinicius Junior. Arteta, who reportedly really wants to sign the Brazilian, laughed and said, “Thank you so much!” When asked about the transfer plans more generally, he said, “We are very active, trying to improve and grow the team. That’s clear. We expect some moves in the next few weeks because we want to get better, like everyone else. You can see the transfer market and what our rivals are doing… we can’t just stand still. We’re very ambitious with what we want to achieve.”