£120m player’s teammates genuinely thought he was signing for Arsenal this summer

Arsenal came agonisingly close to signing one of the best players in the world this summer.

Mikel Arteta really wanted a marquee world-class attacker to elevate his side’s front line. Julian Alvarez was among those players pursued, with talks going on late into the window. But ultimately, the Argentine didn’t want to return to England and has his heart firmly set on Barcelona.

The window closed without the transformative addition Arsenal wanted. But before the Alvarez pursuit intensified, the Gunners had gone to the very top of the market and were willing to go all out.

Vinicius Jr’s teammates thought he was joining Arsenal

Arsenal were serious in bringing Vinicius Jr to the Emirates and did all they could to make the dream transfer happen. It wasn’t just agent-driven noise, or using the club as leverage to get a better deal at Real Madrid.

This is something that genuinely came close to happening, and the club were confident of pulling it off. And inside the Real Madrid dressing room, it felt real too.

Speaking on El Larguero, Cadena SER journalist Anton Meana revealed what sources close to the club were saying during the summer. “Many of Vinicius’ teammates saw him headed straight to Arsenal,” he said.

“The contract renewal wasn’t progressing, and in England they wanted to make him the global face of the Premier League — Haaland and Vinicius. His teammates assumed he would leave. He didn’t leave, but they believe that mentally, he already had.”

Of course, Vinicius signed a new contract and stayed. But his form this season has been poor by his standards. The Brazilian has scored just one goal this season, and has faced scrutiny for his display in the derby defeat against Atletico Madrid.

Yan Diomande is now threatening to take his place in the starting lineup, and Meana’s sources believe the Arsenal saga is at the root of Vinicius’ poor form.

It will be interesting to see if this is a situation Arsenal ever revisit. Christos Tzolis started well, but his damning dribbling stats show he clearly has flaws and is nowhere near the same level. But with Vinicius, it does feel like the ship may have sailed.