Vinicius Junior deal will CHANGE EVERYTHING for Arsenal

Robin Bairner

Updated: 21 Mar 2025 09:29 CDT
3 min read

Vinicius Junior, Arsenal, 2024/25 — © IMAGO

Arsenal’s summer transfer plans will hinge on Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, with the Ballon d’Or runner-up a determining factor in the plans of Mikel Arteta’s side.

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Los Blancos are eager to retain the Brazil international, and while the Premier League side cannot afford to buy him with their Spanish counterparts expected to demand something like €300 million for a deal, he could move to the Saudi Pro League in a transfer that would have a domino effect at the Emirates Stadium.

Current ETV

Vinícius Júnior

F (CL), M (L)

Real Madrid

Vinícius Júnior

F (CL), M (L)

Real Madrid

ETV Range

€91.8M - €153M

Should Vini Jr move to the Middle East, Real Madrid would then target Arsenal's priority as his replacement, Sport reports.

Athletic Club’s Nico Williams, who is also being tracked by Bayern Munich, would suddenly be in the sights of Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

With a release fee of just €58m, he is considered one of the bargains of the summer.

Nico Williams' future tied to Vini

Real Madrid are still hopeful that they will be able to extend Vinicius Junior’s contract, which ends in June 2027. If they cannot do that, they will consider a sale in order to maximise their revenue.

Although Kylian Mbappe could feature out on the left, the future of the France star appears to be through the middle of the pitch, and to that end, the Bernabeu side could disrupt the plans of Arsenal and Arteta by moving for Nico Williams.

It was reported last summer that Nico had a strong preference for staying in Spain rather than moving to the Premier League. While he seems to have softened this stance to some extent, the opportunity to move to Real Madrid will be a tempting one for the 22-year-old – potentially at the expense of Arsenal.

If Vinicius Junior, who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €122.4 million, signs a new Real Madrid deal, though, Arsenal’s path to signing Nico Williams is likely to remain relatively clear.