I will always admire Riccardo Calafiori. One of my favorite stories to tell will always be how I lucked out mightily enough to be among the first people from outside the staff to welcome him to Arsenal Football Club. And of course, he is an excellent, unique player when he’s on the pitch.
But I don’t just admire the Italian because of what a galactic-level unicorn he is. I also admire him because he’s brave. It takes bravery to do what he did, to make the choice to leave Bologna at the young age of 22 and move not only to the Premier League, a competition relatively few Italians leave their homeland for, but to join Arsenal, a club where the level of both expectation and heartbreak has been massive for over two decades. It takes bravery to make a go of it where the language, customs, and even weather are different when the comforts of familiarity beckon as strongly as they ever have.
Calafiori could have taken a nice, comfortable path like transferring to Inter, competing for the title in a less intense league, and making a handful of Champions League appearances every season. He could have enjoyed a nice life as a rich man in his 20s, sipping cappuccinos in the Mediterranean sun and seeing his closest friends and family every weekend. Instead, he opted for a challenge. He chased his ambition and it led him to Arsenal.
I, and probably Calafiori as well, would say he’s been rewarded for that. The Italian is now a Premier League champion. He was a penalty shootout away from winning the Champions League as well, and the odds are quite good that he’ll be back with the Gunners. It’d be a lie to say all this doesn’t feel like just the beginning for Mikel Arteta’s men.
Declan Rice was rewarded for his bravery too. He could have taken the easy way. He could have joined Manchester City, slotted into a cushy double pivot with Rodri, and cruised to the last three Premier League titles on offer. Instead, he took a risk. Rice bought into the project pitched to him by Arteta and Edu Gaspar and committed to the underdogs. After two failed attempts, he has his Premier League winner’s medal and rightfully wants more.
I could say the same for Viktor Gyökeres as well. The Swede is not what one would describe as an unquestionably elite player. Even now, I wouldn’t hesitate to include him in a player-plus-cash deal for Julián Alvarez. Gyökeres thrived in the large green patches and against the middling defenders before him in the Primeira Liga, and clearly was not a player equipped to live comfortably with the English top flight’s tight spaces and low blocks.
But when offered the chance to come to Arsenal, he moved heaven and earth to make it happen. He put his reputation as both one of the most cold-blooded strikers and one of the best aura farmers in football on the line for a shot at true greatness. Now, he can always say he was top scorer for a team that won the Premier League.
That bravery is present in practically every member of Arsenal’s current squad. Players have left the comfort their homes, accepted competition for minutes they had not yet encountered, and placed their short careers at the mercy of football’s most grueling league. They are led by a manager still in his first job almost seven years after taking on one of the most demanding rebuilds in elite football. Bravery is very much a theme of this group.
It’s that bravery that led Arsenal to pursue Real Madrid’s Vinicius Júnior over the last fortnight. Such is the courage required to match the ambition of the Gunners — they are dedicated to becoming the best by any means they can achieve. Vinicius had been at a stalemate with his club over a new contract for almost two years, with just one year remaining on his current deal entering the summer. And so, almost certainly knowing they would be doubted for the entirety of the endeavor and ridiculed should it not come off, they attempted to pounce on a market opportunity.
The funny thing is, the Gunners came quite close to landing perhaps the single biggest transfer in Premier League history. By all reliable accounts they presented a compelling package to Vinicius and his representatives at Roc Nation, one that reportedly exceeded what Real Madrid put on the table. According to HandOfArsenal, the club discussed with Vini Jr. how joining the Gunners could skyrocket his brand, make him the face of the world’s most televised football league, give him a path to winning the Ballon d’Or that had so painfully eluded him two seasons ago.
Arsenal didn’t blink at the nine-figure price tag Real Madrid had supposedly set or the Brazilian’s demanded weekly salary that would likely threaten the existing wage structure. As David Ornstein reported, the expenditure was approved at all levels. Even the Kroenkes backed the move; Josh Kroenke was very likely a driving force in the affair. The club were all in on landing a superstar to take their title-winning project to the next level.
In the past, such an audacious move would have felt silly. The Arsenal of old didn’t involve themselves in these sorts of blockbuster deals. They were a club that prided themselves on making its own superstars instead of buying overpriced divas. In any event, they simply lacked the continental clout to ever seem like a consistent destination for the game’s leading talents.
However, the landscape of football has changed. Now Arsenal are the top dog in the richest league in the sport, and have been one of the best teams on the planet for several years now. Arteta’s side are lauded frequently within football, even if not by kids and trolls on social media.
Which meant that now, in the present landscape of European football, they were a serious option for Vinicius. Serious enough for him to agree personal terms with the Gunners according to HandOfArsenal. Serious enough that their aggressive proposal for the Brazilian prompted Real Madrid to risk an abrupt end to their summer business and turmoil in future negotiations with star players by increasing their offer in a bid to keep the winger. Reports suggest Los Blancos’ final proposed package still didn’t quite match Vinicius’ initial demands. But it was enough for him to stay, which the Spanish club officially announced on Thursday.
There has of course been hand-wringing by Arsenal fans in the wake of Vinicius’ recommitment to Real Madrid. I’ve seen many say that Vinicius and his agents played the Gunners like fiddles. I just don’t agree with that. Ornstein’s final words on the topic were that the Brazilian was genuinely open to joining Arteta’s men in the event he couldn’t agree a new contract with his current club. Again, he reportedly agreed terms with Arsenal. That simply doesn’t strike me as the behavior of someone intentionally stringing another club along.
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Sure, Vini’s agents did what any sentient negotiator would do: present Arsenal’s offer to Real Madrid to try to force the issue. Unfortunately for Arsenal that gambit worked and the Spanish giants caved. However, the players were apparently excited about the possibility of Vinicius Júnior joining them. Rival fans, as much as they try to deny it now, were quivering with fear. The Gunners’ hierarchy were reportedly very confident they had done enough to make a monumental acquisition.
This wasn’t a pipe dream. It was a very real one that has been dashed, and we can’t hide from how disappointing that is. Unfortunately, heartbreak is part of the game when you shoot for the stars.
There are also those who say Arsenal (or Andrea Berta if they have a particular axe to grind) have wasted their time going after Vinicius and now have no other options in the transfer market. To that I’d say, who were the other options to begin with? Bradley Barcola is reportedly valued by Paris Saint-Germain at around £130 million, a steep price that screams “high risk”. As was the case before Arsenal pursued Vinicius, the other best alternatives at left wing on the market aren’t all that convincing — Kenan Yıldız, Nico Williams, Antonio Nusa, Rafael Leão, Mika Godts, Marcus Rashford, and Iliman Ndiaye make up a mightily imperfect shortlist in that position. In truth, Arsenal now might be better off pivoting to a player like Julián Alvarez rather than signing one of those left wingers just to make an acquisition.
But ultimately, I’m immensely proud of Arsenal. They demonstrated the ambition befitting of English champions who wish to not only retain their crown, but take their team to the next level. The Gunners didn’t let history or outside opinions cause them to shy away from that objective. The push to sign Vinicius, although unsuccessful, is a declaration of intent to inhabit the pantheon of European football.
They then exhibited the bravery necessary to act on that ambition. They put their money where their mouths were, offering up a titanic package in order to sway Vinicius and his representatives. Arsenal, who had let Morgan Rogers join Chelsea because they refused to stump up enough cash only a few weeks ago, committed to matching the Brazilian’s demands. Highest salary by far at the club that would challenge the current wage structure? Check. Hefty signing bonus? Check. Image rights? Blank cheque. A club infamous for their parsimony over the last two decades were openly unafraid of wielding their wealth to make this statement signing.
Arsenal did everything they could to sign Vinicius. But in the end, as it always had been, the decision was the player’s. And instead of matching the ambition and bravery of his suitor from England, he chose comfort.
Now that my initial wave of bitterness has passed, I want to stress that I do not mean to pass judgment on Vinicius. After all, he’s a two-time Champions League winner and Ballon d’Or runner-up, among other accomplishments. This is a player who has reached the pinnacle of football, who plays for the biggest club in the sport.
But Arsenal offered him an opportunity to ascend further from his current perch. In north London, he would have found himself playing in a league with far more eyes on it than La Liga boasts, and with the adoration of a global fanbase that would have been kinder to him in difficult spells. The increased image rights offered to him by the Gunners would have allowed him to more fruitfully exploit that amplified exposure. Vinicius would have worn the shirt of the current Premier League champions and Champions League finalists, and probably would have been able to lead them to further glory. His brand likely would have exploded as a result. The deal Arsenal put on the table was frankly unassailable.
I don’t know Vinicius’ personality, or what his motivations are at this point in his career. Perhaps he is content with his current achievements. Perhaps he does not want to uproot his life, or those of his family or loved ones. Perhaps it’s simply the case that he loves playing for Real Madrid and does not wish to ply his trade anywhere else. I do not begrudge him any of those reasons for staying.
Objectively, however, those rationales lack the ambition of being the face of the most popular league on the planet, of creating a legacy akin to Jay-Z’s as referenced by Fred Peña on The Cooligans, shown in the video below. They each trade the bravery of chasing that ambition for the comfort of avoiding a disruption to the routine. For the next six years, Vinicius will wear the same crest on his chest, go to the same practice facility, face the same opponents, and keep the same life he has now.
He will remain just shy of the top billing Real Madrid have bestowed upon Kylian Mbappé and soon Jude Bellingham as well. Yan Diomandé, who has just arrived in the Spanish capital for an ungodly fee, will also draw the spotlight away from the Brazilian. He’ll likely also compete for minutes in the left wing position. Only a few years removed from personally leading Real Madrid to consecutive European titles, Vinicius has settled for being part of the ensemble.
He’ll do so in a team that is unbalanced and in the wake of Vinicius’ extension, by design or coincidence, must now watch as a player who would have remedied that issue in Rodri likely joins their arch nemeses. Real Madrid’s squad will fight against not only a stronger reigning champion in Barcelona, but themselves as well if recent history is anything to go by. And it will all be presided over by Jose Mourinho — who publicly gaslit Vinicius in defense of alleged racist abuse by Gianluca Prestianni just four months ago — the personification of a desperate gambit by Real Madrid’s hierarchy to get a rogue dressing room under control. But the truth is, Mourinho has taken less and less time to wear out his welcome in his last several jobs. And the smart money will be on his second stint at the Bernabeu being no different.
This isn’t to mention the lack of tactical fit Vinicius will have to suffer while sharing the pitch with Mbappé. Or the racist abuse that will likely continue to be directed at him while he’s in Spain. Or the crushing pressure that comes with wearing the shirt for Real Madrid.
Vinicius chose this over a new chapter in his career, a fresh start with a healthier dressing room dynamic, on a better team, in a more lucrative setting. In truth, it was the path he wanted to take all along. The problem was that Real Madrid took almost two years to offer a deal just about good enough to make acquiescing feel acceptable. All Vinicius needed was a small gesture to commit the remainder of his prime to a club that have repeatedly undermined him.
I’m sure this will read as sour grapes. And I won’t lie, there certainly is at least a tinge of it throughout this piece. Because it feels as though Arsenal have been gazumped by irrational decision-making. For me, that’s a little harder to accept.
At the same time, however, I believe it is the second-best outcome possible. My club have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are desperate to improve, even as the Premier League’s incumbent champions. It is through no fault of their own that this move failed to materialize. That fills me with faith.
Faith that they will continue to attempt these ambitious acquisitions.
Faith that their bravery will be rewarded and this won’t feel like a sliding doors moment.
Faith that it will be a long, long time before they allow themselves to get too comfortable.
And in the end, those principles are more important than any superstar.
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