Vinicius Junior to Arsenal: Why Arteta’s Big Gamble Makes Sense

At first glance, asking why Mikel Arteta would be interested in signing one of football’s elite talents feels almost unnecessary.

After all, why wouldn’t the Arsenal manager be tempted by the prospect of bringing Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr to the Emirates Stadium in what would rank among the most dramatic transfer coups in Premier League history — particularly when the Brazilian appears tailor-made to solve the imbalance in Arsenal’s attack?

Last season, Arsenal’s attacking threat leaned heavily to the right. Too often, the Gunners looked to Bukayo Saka to produce a decisive moment, and when that route was blocked, Arteta’s side frequently turned to set-pieces for answers. On the opposite flank, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli offered energy, commitment and plenty of running, but their end product failed to match Arsenal’s ambitions.

Vinicius Jr would address that weakness emphatically. The Real Madrid winger is among the most explosive ball carriers in the modern game, and even when measured against the finest dribblers in Europe’s Big Five Leagues, he belongs in the same conversation as Barcelona prodigy and World Cup winner Lamine Yamal.

Give Vinicius space and he attacks it instantly. With the ball at his feet, he drives defenders back toward their own penalty area, either engineering a shooting chance for himself or, when opponents move to shut him down, sliding a pass into a team-mate in a dangerous position.

The numbers underline his impact. Across Europe’s Big Five Leagues last season, no player created more chances after carrying the ball at least five metres than Vinicius Jr. He also attempted 49 shots following those progressive carries, just one fewer than category leader Yamal.

Saka is, by some distance, Arsenal’s best with the ball at his feet, but even his numbers are dwarfed by the staggering figures for Vinicius.

Trossard and Martinelli mustered just 19 shot-ending carries and 18 chance-ending ones between them.

Just a quick look at Vinicius Jr’s decisive carries shows how relentless and devastating he was at getting the ball, driving into the box and making things happen. Arsenal need more of those if they are to break down deep defences that often caused them problems last term.

And yet, for all that brilliance, it’s impossible not to ignore that lingering doubt about whether he really is the right fit for Arsenal. Or, more specifically, for Arteta.

Spanish media outlet AS claimed that Arteta, in his bid to coax Vinicius Jr to north London, has promised to build his team around the Brazilian. Only, that goes against everything that has brought Arsenal glory under him.

So much of Arsenal’s success comes from their press and their teamwork in applying it together. They defend as a unit with everyone playing their part. If one part of the press doesn’t do its job, they are easy to play through.

As part of Daily Mail Sport’s analysis of why Arteta was so keen to sign Morgan Rogers, before they were gazumped by their rivals in blue down the road to the tune of £117million, we showed how a huge part of the allure in signing him was the defensive work Rogers did alongside his ability with the ball at his feet.

Not only did Rogers rank alongside Saka for joint-third most shot-ending carries in league last season but he also sat behind only the Arsenal winger for the most times any player won possession in the final third.

Even though his goals and assists were poor, no player with more than 500 minutes of league action averaged more ball recoveries in the final third than Martinelli.

Arteta wants his front line to be as busy without the ball as with it. You don’t get that with Vinicius Jr. Such demands have rarely been placed on him at Real Madrid either. Quite the opposite, in fact, where he has often been allowed to shirk those duties and focus on getting the most out of his devastating attacking qualities.

He wanders about the pitch, waiting for his colleagues to win the ball, then springs into action on the counter-attack. His perceived lack of effort saw Real fans turn on him frequently last season. ‘Work rate zero, tantrums 100’, was one cutting verdict after a shock home defeat to Getafe in which he preferred to gesture to the Bernabeu crowd instead of tracking back.

He won’t get such a free rein from Arteta, or the fans. If he does join – he returned to Real Madrid for pre-season training today – he will be expected to do his bit.

He’ll certainly have to do more than what he does already. Vinicius Jr won possession during matches far less than Saka, Martinelli or Trossard last term and nearly half as much in the final third as compatriot Martinelli.

For all the grumbles, though, his numbers suggest there is room for improvement. He won possession high up the pitch about as often as Madueke. He won more duels – something Arteta values very highly – than all Arsenal forwards bar Saka.

His ball-winning figures from last term bettered those of Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres so, if Arteta is to build his team around him, then perhaps that opens up the possibility of Vinicius Jr playing up front, as he did frequently for Real and Brazil, especially in matches where Arteta wants to exploit space in behind.

Vinicius Jr did so in the Champions League last 16 second leg against Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side were 4-0 down on aggregate and chasing the game, leaving Vinicius Jr – playing as the central striker – the chance to break away as he did below. Despite scoring twice in the game, he raced through only to blaze his chance over the bar.

Arteta wants his team to play more of those passes to find more of those runs, and the potential arrival of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle would help unlock that.

That’s a definite option but that would still not fix the left-sided problem. Perhaps Arteta is willing to make a compromise: Know that Vinicius Jr won’t work as hard as Trossard or Martinelli but will more than make up for it with the weight of goals, assists and star power. If Arteta allows him to stay high up the pitch, it not only gives Arsenal the ideal out ball for a quick counter but will likely petrify opponents into leaving a player back to stop it.

Arteta maybe feels as though he has the players around Vinicius Jr to pick up the dirty work if left to do his thing. Again, if they land Guimaraes, his all-round, all-action ability would allow Arsenal’s left-sided central midfielder, usually Declan Rice, to take on more of a clean-up role once Arsenal lose the ball.

Myles Lewis-Skelly would have the legs to cover the extra ground and the defensive nous that came from his time as a left-back. It might just mean Arsenal’s actual left-back, whether that be Riccardo Calafiori or Piero Hincapie, might have to resist any urges to bomb forward on the overlap.

Vinicius Jr’s arrival would also shatter Arsenal’s balanced wage structure. He’s a superstar that would come with a superstar salary. If Arteta is to make an exception on the pitch, he’ll have to make one off it too. It’s just that maybe, at the end of it all, he just thinks he’s worth it.