Arsenal’s interest in Real Madrid and Brazil star Vinicius Jr tells a story.
The club’s progress in recent years, subsequent elevation in status and last season’s success has put the Gunners in a position where they can now compete for the signatures of the game’s biggest stars.
The ambition and hunger for silverware has been there for a while now but as Josh Kroenke stood on the open-top bus with Mikel Arteta and his players, watching on as over a million people took to the streets to celebrate the Premier League title win – you got the sense those scenes would only inspire the club’s co-chair to push for more.
It has been a long, arduous journey to the summit of the Premier League for Arteta’s side but having claimed the title for the first time since 2004 last season, every bump in the road, every setback and every struggle felt totally worth it.
There was, however, one narrative that, despite their success, the Gunners found very hard to shake.
Boring, boring Arsenal
They faced much criticism and many questions over their style of play with Arteta often labelled a “negative” or “boring” coach.
The Arsenal project had reached a stage where nothing less than winning was acceptable and given his Premier League experience both as a player and manager, he decided that the prioritisation of efficiency over flair gave his side the best chance of making history.
His deep understanding of tactics in the English top flight in particular and ability to identify trends before formulating elaborate plans to overcome the obstacles Arsenal faced gave his side a huge advantage.
When all was said and done, the end justified the means.
The task for Arteta and Arsenal now is no longer to reach the summit but instead to remain there and build on the solid foundations they have laid.
‘We’re one of the big boys again’
Excellence runs through the club nowadays from top to bottom; the mentality behind the scenes is totally different to what it was when he first arrived in 2019.
He not only deserves credit for the transformation he has masterminded on the pitch but his infectious enthusiasm and ability to engage others around him has led to restructures off it, far greater investment and the result is clear for all to see.
Nothing screams “we’re one of the big boys again” more than Arsenal’s pursuit of Vinicius, a player who has starred for the biggest club in the world for years now and is regarded by many as the best left winger in the game.
The Gunners are, of course, seeking to take advantage of his current contract situation at Real Madrid but they are deadly serious about landing the 26-year-old and are, by all accounts, willing to break the bank in order to do so.
In response to the links, many have questioned how a superstar like Vinicius would fit into a side that has been built on structure, hard work and unity first and foremost, but the way I see it, he is exactly the type of player Arsenal are missing.
An output monster
The culture at Colney is strong and it is highly unlikely any individual, no matter how big a star, would be able to negatively affect that.
Often, you become a product of your environment and a player of his quality surrounded by accountability, selflessness and the structure that would further platform his talents is only going to thrive.
He has scored 128 goals and provided 100 assists in 375 games for Los Blancos and so if the Gunners were to strike a deal, they would be bringing in an output monster as well as a global superstar.
The recruitment of Christos Tzolis along with the interest in the Brazilian gives you an idea of what the priority was for Arteta going into this summer.
It feels like acknowledgement that his forwards were not as effective as they needed to be at times last season, and while set-piece goals, for example, proved key, that approach doesn’t feel sustainable.
Rivals on high alert
A significant increase in open-play attacking output is a must.
No transfer in football is a sure thing; every deal carries an element of risk, some of course more than others, but there is unanimous agreement that Vinicius’ arrival would be transformational.
Reports of Arsenal’s interest alone has sent shockwaves through the Premier League with the rest of the division suddenly coming to the realisation that the Gunners don’t plan on stopping here – the goal is to build a dynasty in the coming years and who would bet against them doing so?
His salary demands mean Arsenal would have to break their current wage structure to land their man and so understandably, there is lots of focus around the finances of any potential deal.
I prefer to leave the numbers to the accountants and concentrate on what the club’s willingness to explore a transfer such as this one says about their ambition and desire to succeed again and again.
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Last campaign had so much riding on it; failure to win the title would have led to questions regarding the Arteta project.
Would another near miss have signified the end?
Instead, having tasted glory and with renewed enthusiasm driven by the ecstasy and jubilation felt by all involved – this feels like just the start.
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