Summer break. What's the plan B?
The Vinícius saga reached its inevitably frustrating conclusion, but we keep our heads up and march on.
Just days after I posted my thoughts on Vinícius, every reliable hack in the business confirmed he’d been playing a high-stakes game of chicken... and, predictably, he blinked first. He never had any intention of swapping Madrid for North London; his camp simply used us as a bargaining chip. Because Arsenal went in with all guns blazing, Real Madrid eventually was forced to make a few concessions to shut the whole thing down.
They knocked back the signing-on bonus but gave him enough leeway on image rights to let him feel like the big man. Vinícius strutted away acting like he’d dictated terms, but let’s be real—he didn’t exactly rule the roost. Hardly a Dictator if you know what I mean?
I was honest last week: I’m no fan of his antics, however much I admire that velvet touch. The constant tantrums on and off the pitch? That’s never a good sign. I get the racial abuse—it’s vile—but he isn’t the first Black player to grace Europe’s elite leagues, and he’s certainly not the greatest. We’ve seen world-class forwards face that same fire with far more power and dignity.
It’s blindingly obvious he wanted to stay put, but that decision highlights the gargantuan mentality gap between him and someone that we already have on our hands. Look at Declan Rice. He was being courted by the City hierarchy, offered a mountain of cash and practically a guarantee to win the Premier League, local cups and having a real shot at Champions League. Yet, he chose the Arsenal. He wanted to be the catalyst, the man to transform this club into a genuine European powerhouse. He wanted to land in a place where he would be appreciated and admired by the fans. Place, where he already quite frankly has a legendary status after being the constant force in the engine room behind our first title in over two decades.
In contrast, 26-year-old Vinícius was offered the chance to accept a new challenge at a rising football power, to be the face of a new era with better pay and a near-certain Premier League medal. He could have been The Man—the hero who finally delivered the historical first Champions League trophy to the red side of London. Instead, he chose to stay in Mbappé’s shadow, playing for a manager whose tactical clock stopped a decade ago, all because it was the safe, comfortable option.
Do we really want that sort of baggage at the carpet? Or should we just let Jurriën Timber deal with him on the pitch next season? Somewhere in between keeping Vinícius and beefing up their backline, Real have splashed serious cash on the Ivorian, Ian Diomande. We’re back to the “Galactico” era of bottomless pockets where every rising star is up for grabs. I thought that era was fading, but it seems it was just a temporary glitch in the Matrix.
The real kicker is: did our board realize they were being played? You could smell the manipulation from the way the news was being rotated in the press. Did they honestly think they could land him, or was this a calculated PR stunt to show the world that Arsenal are finally shopping in the elite boutique?
I backed the strategy of going for the best left wingers on the planet, but there was one glaring flaw: What to do if this doesn’t work out? How do you pivot back to bidding £120m+ for Bradley Barcola—a lad who wasn’t even a locked-in starter for PSG? How do you go back to chasing Iliman Ndiaye once you’ve already pictured Vinícius tearing up that left flank?
What will be the new answer to the same question?
There are two ways this plays out.
Option two: we keep hunting for a marquee name and look to shift Martinelli for a tidy fee. Top of the list is still, of course, Julián Álvarez. A man who dreams of Barcelona with the same level of humidity in the room as Vinicius dreamt about staying in Madrid. The figures being quoted are frankly insane. But now we’ve flashed the cash for Vini, everyone knows the war chest is open if we really want someone.
He’ll bag a few worldies, no doubt, but he’s not the goal-machine you expect for a club-record fee. As someone on the forums rightly pointed out, what does exactly he bring that Eberechi Eze doesn’t already offer? Eze scores screamers, isn’t a traditional chalk-on-the-boots winger, and loves a wander around the box, but he can vanish in big games too. In the World Cup, he was a ghost until that one crack against a ten-man Swiss side. 140 million for a couple of free kicks bagged? No, thank you.
The reason we’re still chasing the Barca fanboy is because Arteta has become utterly obsessed. That obsessive streak is exactly what delivered us our first league title in 22 years, but it’s a double-edged sword. When Mikel fixates on a player, he probably won’t stop bending the ears of the board and Berta until he gets his man.
Given our business this window, I don’t see the board green-lighting a ridiculous fee. The only logical move is a swap deal with Atleti for Viktor Gyökeres plus a mid-level top-up (~£50m). I love the idea of Gyökeres—a man who would run through brick walls to be here—whereas all Álvarez can think of: is a one-two with Toni Gordon. The problem, however with sticking to Gyokeres (and Martinelli) is that a Gyökeres-Martinelli-Madueke front three was, frankly, agonizing last season.
It wasn’t just a bad vibe; the data backs it up. Gyökeres paired with either of those two saw our xG creation plummet 4x. When that legendary trio starts together, it drops by a factor of eight compared to Trossard, Havertz, and Saka. Eight, Karl! For every four chances the first-choice boys create, the “legends” give you one half-chance.
The reasons are blindingly obvious. Gyökeres and Martinelli are cut from the same cloth—finishers who live for the service. Madueke (and Gabi to an extent) are often on their own planet; they’ll pick up the ball and drive at goal … until they run out of pitch.
Madueke ain’t going nowhere, and I doubt Arteta trusts a 16-year-old—no matter how much much MUCH better player he is—to be the main backup. We need at least one different back-up there. That brings us to Everton’s Ndiaye and Juve’s Kenan Yıldız.
Ndiaye was a nuisance in the league last season on many occasions. He offers something completely different to Gabi, and I’d be well up for it if the fee was sensible. But the “Premier League Tax” is real. You aren’t getting a winger like that for less than £80m after the single good season he’s had.
Yıldız, though? Now he’s a name to get excited about. He was one of the four I flagged on Transfermarkt. At 21, he’s raw but has the ceiling to become a nightmare for defenders. If you’ve already secured the experience of 24-year old Tzolis and 27-year old Eze, splashing out on the next potential superstar makes perfect sense.
And as I’m typing this, Bruno Guimarães has finally signed! We all knew it was coming after Howe left Tyneside. Newcastle pretended that they tried to resist, but £75m did the business.
This could be our most important signing to unlock creativity. Teams have figured out that they need to cut the ball supply in the middle, and Bruno is the perfect antidote for the problem. Just the thought of Bruno and Rice lining up together at the whistle... absolute goosebumps. I wouldn’t want to be the poor sods staring them down in the tunnel.
It’s all sunshine and rainbows until you see the links to potential sales of Myles Lewis-Skelly or Zubimendi to Chelsea. Look, with our schedule, we need two quality options for every shirt. But I also get why the club might be tempted to sell if a ridiculous offer lands.
But I cannot stomach the thought of selling a 19-year-old who’s already broken into the first team twice in two positions and was a massive reason we steadied the ship in April to clinch the title. Especially when half the midfield is already at or past their peak. Where’s the long-term thinking?
Regarding Zubimendi: I get the risk. He’s 26, effectively demoted, and has never played outside Spain bar last season. If he starts angling for a move back home in 2027, cashing in now is a sound financial play. But what’s the price? If Chelsea are throwing money around like it’s confetti—as the Morgan Rogers deal showed—then we shouldn’t even pick up the phone for less than £90m plus add-ons.
We lost to Betis in Dublin, but pre-season results are worth about as much as a chocolate teapot. Plenty of teams lose to minnows in July only to lift the trophy in May. My only fear is that shipping three goals gives Arteta an excuse to demand a big-money defender.
And on cue, the media is resurfacing unpleasant Ezri Konsa links (not cheap) and disgusting Spurs’ Romero links. Romero? Really, Mikel? After all the talk about “standards” and “club culture,” you’re looking at a defender from down the road?
This isn’t even a “beheading the enemy” move to be proud of. This is a player with serious disciplinary issues, a red card magnet who’s always got a clanger in him. You aren’t stealing their talisman to level up. That ship sailed when Harry Kane left for Bayern (or at minimum Son who could fix our left wing trouble). This is just taking a headache off their hands and letting them find a proper replacement (like Van Hecke). When a rumour has this many legs, you know it’s been approved at the top, and that’s a real stain on Arteta’s connection with the fans. I can only hope the price tag stops us, or someone in PR finds their spine before it’s too late.
Till next time!