Arteta has spoken directly with Vinicius Junior about a move to Arsenal, according to Diario AS, moving what had been background interest into manager-to-player contact.
AS said the Arsenal boss has “taken charge of the operation” and told the Brazilian how central he would be to a project the club wants to build around him for 2026-27.
The 26-year-old’s camp have already moved to cool the story. Representatives close to Vinicius have denied that any deal is in place, pointing out that the personal decision still rests with the player.
Madrid’s number is €150m
Real Madrid want €150m, roughly £128m, for a player entering the final year of his contract.
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Pay it and Arsenal set a new Premier League record, nudging past the £125m that took Alexander Isak from Newcastle to Liverpool last September.
Madrid are not pushing for a sale, but they will not let him walk for nothing either. Sources have told ESPN that the club will accept a departure this summer if Vinicius refuses to sign the extension already on the table, but the last offer is not going up.
Vinicius wants Madrid paid
The Brazilian has been telling those close to him that he does not want to leave Real Madrid without the club being compensated, Yahoo Sports reported last week.
He was signed as an 18-year-old, the reasoning goes, and he feels Madrid should recoup a fee rather than see him walk on a Bosman.
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That leaves Arsenal in a narrow window. Wait until January and Vinicius can sign a pre-contract with any non-Spanish club, then arrive for free next summer.
Arteta keeps his answer short
In public, the Arsenal manager has kept the door open without pushing it. After a 4-1 pre-season win over Girona on Saturday, Arteta declined to discuss Vinicius specifically.
“Well we are really active, trying to improve and evolve the team. That’s clear,” he told reporters, adding that Arsenal expect “movements in the next few weeks”.
“We won’t sit still. And we are very ambitious in what we want to do.”
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Jose Mourinho took over as Real Madrid head coach on 13 July on a three-year deal, and the Vinicius contract standoff is one of the first files on his desk.
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth said last week that “Real Madrid are in a bit of a sticky situation because Vinicius Jr has only got one more year left on his contract”.
Arsenal’s next friendly is against Real Betis in Dublin on Wednesday. With Vinicius entering the last 12 months of his Madrid deal, any bid at €150m needs to land before the summer window shuts.
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