Vinicius Junior Real Madrid numbers compared to Arsenal wingers including Bukayo Saka & Gabriel Martinelli
€140m market value
©TM/IMAGO
There is still a lot of work to be done and completing a transfer of such magnitude would require crossing a lot of obstacles, but Arsenal’s interest in Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, as first reported on Saturday, is real. And the Gunners are prepared to make him their highest ever paid player if they can get a deal done. Reports from Spain suggest that Los Blancos are still trying to convince the Brazilian to sign a new contract, with his current deal expiring in 2027, with incoming boss José Mourinho thought to want to keep him, but Arsenal are ready to pounce.
Mikel Arteta has built one of the best teams in Europe at the Emirates, as proved by his team’s Premier League triumph and making to the Champions League final last season. However, when we just isolate Arsenal’s attack, it’s a miracle those achievements were made. The Gunners have the best defence in Europe, but their front three simply doesn’t compare to the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Co. With Vinicius, that could change.
Vinicius Junior compared to Arsenal wingers
When we compare Vinicius’ numbers to those who have primarily occupied the wingers spot for Arsenal under Arteta, we can see a clear difference. We have taken the goal contributions (goals + assists) per game for Vinicius and Arsenal wingers in all competitions since the start of 2020. When we do this, as illustrated in the graphic below, we can see that the Brazilian comes out well on top with 0.64 goal contributions per-game (gcpg). In that period he has provided 211 goals and assists in 329 games for Real Madrid.
The closest Arsenal winger to Vinicius is, unsurprisingly, Bukayo Saka, who is the Gunners best attacker on his day, but has struggled with injuries in the past two seasons. Saka has 0.53gcpg, with 154 goals and assists in 291 games. When we then look at the left-wingers – Vinicius’ actual position – we see an even sharper decline. Leandro Trossard, who recently departed for Besiktas, has 0.40gcpg from 174 matches, whilst Gabriel Martinelli has just 0.34gcpg from 261 games.
Noni Madueke, who was signed from Chelsea last summer, has just 0.28gcpg from 42 games. These numbers significantly highlight the upgrade Vinicius would provide to Arteta’s attack. There’s no doubt, the player may have his limitations defensively but this would be outweighed by what he could bring going forward, and with the likes of Declan Rice and Piero Hincapié willing to do the hard yards down that side, they could cover for the superstar. It’s still some way off, but it would be the biggest signing in Arsenal’s history, and one of the biggest in the history of the Premier League.
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