Tom Canton and Ryan Taylor sit down to discuss Vini Jr on the latest episode of the Seeing Red podcast, with the pair discussing the Brazilian's image rights
Vinicius Jr
Vini Jr is wanted by Arsenal this summer (Image: Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
View Image
Arsenal’s move for Vinicius Junior is seen as incredibly ambitious as the Gunners aim for a major boost to their squad. It is an aim that would see them set new standards and reach new heights, which is exactly the messaging Mikel Arteta has given at the start of the summer.
Arteta is currently overseeing his squad’s preparations for the new campaign, with their first official pre-season clash scheduled to be against Girona in Spain. The hope is that some more signings are on the way, with even a sentence on the Arsenal website in the interview with the manager stating that signings are "expected before the end of the transfer window.”
However, the big focus on Vini Jr has supporters very excited, even despite some suggestions that the player will stay in the Spanish capital. football.london understands it is too early to be definitive over the winger’s future.
sat down on the Seeing Red podcast to discuss the situation. You can listen to the latest episode here.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
“I think Tom, to be honest, when David Ornstein first dropped that bombshell report, which you know was huge news at the time, I think it was always clear, probably that this was maybe a little bit of a long shot for Arsenal, and that's not to say that it might not happen or definitely won't happen,” Taylor explained.
“I just feel like when you're talking about a player of Vini’s magnitude and stature, you know we're talking about a great and one of the best players in world football. I think there has to be a little bit of an understanding among fans and probably reporters as well that this is a deal where there have to be so many little things going in Arsenal's favour in order for them to execute that.
“And at this moment in time it's obviously still a little bit up in the air but I think the fact Arsenal are interested and as the report said there was an indication that it'd been approved at all levels. I mean, it just goes to show the complete transformation really that Arsenal, particularly Mikel Arteta, has overseen over the past few years because I remember covering Arsenal about four or five years ago when they were in for, like, Albert Sambi Lokonga.
“No disrespect to Lokonga, but it just shows how far the club have come, and you'll know better than me, but I can imagine the excitement has been absolutely off the scale about this deal. So even though that report came out [on Tuesday] from Sky, I think we've not really received any concrete clarification. It's dead in the water. I think that won't happen until we know exactly what's going on with Vini’s contract.
“So is that kind of how you see it, Tom? Obviously, you've done a little bit more work on it than I, having been away at the World Cup, but it does feel like this was maybe a transfer where Arsenal only had a puncher's chance?”
“Yeah,” Canton replied. “I think anybody with the viewpoint that this was one that was more likely than not to happen I think were extremely optimistic on that sense because Arsenal ultimately are always the secondary element to this story.
“The main story is Vinicius Junior's potential contract renewal with Real Madrid and for Arsenal to have any hope it wasn't a case of, you know, convincing Vini necessarily to choose them over Real Madrid, it would be more of a case of Vinicius Junior failed to come to an agreement with Real Madrid over his contract extension that the needs that he feels he deserves and the terms that he feels he deserves aren't met by Real Madrid.
“They aren't typically a club that tend to agree to signing-on-bonuses to brand new contracts. I think there's been an element of that involved in those talks too, whereas Arsenal, of course, who not only could offer him fantastic wages and Arsenal to my knowledge and understanding certainly would be willing to do whatever it takes financially to get it done if the opportunity does become more realistic.
“But also from an image rights perspective, those are shared 50-50 while at Real Madrid, but would be a 100 per cent Vinicius Junior's because of the difference in rulings in the two nations if he were to move to Arsenal.
“I think that everybody who's kind of on the edge of their seat about this story should just probably take a bit of a breath and should have done really at the point of the interest being first reported, as you mentioned by David Ornstein, that this was a very much exploratory, potential market opportunity that Arsenal want to be alive to.
“A clear show of ambition, definitely from Arsenal that they are in the market for these types of players, but that ultimately is only in their hands. It's completely out of their hands, and they're there in case Vinicius Junior does not agree to the deal with Real Madrid.”
Get YOUR Arsenal Newsletter