'Of course': Arsenal assistant Miguel Molina confirms Gunners wanted to sign 22-goal winger
Arsenal assistant manager Miguel Molina has confirmed that the Gunners were keen on signing Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior during the summer transfer window.
The Gunners parted ways with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli this summer, but they made just one attacking acquisition in Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge.
The club were interested in an ambitious transfer for Vinicius, but the Brazil international eventually decided to stay at Madrid and signed a fresh six-year contract.
In an interview with Radio Marca‘s La Tribu, presenter Pablo Villa particularly asked Molina about the Gunners’ interest in signing the Brazilian attacker.
In response, Molina acknowledged Arsenal’s pursuit of the 26-year-old and said that he was a ‘name on the table’ to bolster the club’s attacking department.
He said: “Yes, of course. Obviously, I can’t ignore reality, but he [Vinicius] was a name that was on the table, yes.”
Arsenal could pursue a marquee forward in January
Vinicius had a wonderful 2025/26 season with Los Blancos. He netted 22 goals and provided 14 assists across all competitions for the Madrid heavyweights.
The Flamengo graduate would have been a statement signing for the Gunners, and could have established himself as the undisputed choice on the left wing.
His reluctance to join has proved a blessing in disguise for Tzolis, who has made a fine start to his Arsenal career with four assists in seven appearances thus far.
The Greek has had a couple of tough games on the road to Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion, but he looks a good purchase and should only get better going forward.
Regardless, Arsenal will likely pursue a marquee attacker in January. The club missed out on signing Morgan Rogers and Vinicius this summer before another couple of setbacks.
They could not convince Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez to join them, while Inter Milan were clear they would not entertain any proposals for Lautaro Martinez before the deadline.
Alvarez was holding out for a move to Barcelona this summer, but sporting director Deco recently said that the World Cup winner is ‘now in the past‘ and the club have moved on from him.
We won’t be surprised if Arsenal make a renewed approach for Alvarez at the turn of the year.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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