{"id":606776,"date":"2026-07-27T17:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T17:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/606776\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T17:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T17:10:14","slug":"arsenal-transfers-five-alternative-wingers-to-vinicius-junior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/606776\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal transfers: Five alternative wingers to Vinicius Junior"},"content":{"rendered":"

The news that Arsenal<\/a> are exploring a deal to sign Real Madrid<\/a> superstar Vinicius Junior<\/a> almost broke the internet. If they get it done, it\u2019d surely be the Premier League\u2019s biggest blockbuster signing of the summer.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a long way to go before we reach \u2018here we go\u2019, and Arsenal may yet sign a different forward this summer. According to talkSPORT\u2019s chief football correspondent Alex Crook, the Gunners have \u201cadded the Brazil international to their list of transfer targets \u2013 not necessarily their number one option.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve identified five potential alternatives that Arsenal can target this summer if they\u2019re unable to land Vinicius\u2019 signature.<\/p>\n

Bradley Barcola<\/strong><\/p>\n

Liverpool have been most closely linked with the PSG forward this summer, but dispatches from the rumour mill have also given Arsenal a mention here or there.<\/p>\n

No concrete reports have emerged just yet, but you\u2019d be surprised if the 23-year-old\u2019s name wasn\u2019t on their shortlist. Barcola has two years left on his deal with the perennial Ligue 1 champions, renewal negotiations are believed to have reached an impasse, and all the noises out of his camp suggest that he\u2019s open to a move this summer.<\/p>\n

Barcola has notched 39 goals and 37 assists in 152 appearances for PSG, while he also impressed with three goals for France in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

One way or another, we\u2019d be surprised if Barcola isn\u2019t a Premier League footballer by the time the window closes.<\/p>\n

Rafael Leao<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI want a new challenge out of Serie A. I follow the Premier League with great attention,\u201d Leao told Portuguese station SportTV at the start of June.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I have the opportunity to play there or La Liga I would be really happy because my talent would be exalted there. Let\u2019s see what will happen this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fabrizio Romano gave those quotes a wider boost, and you get the sense that Leao\u2019s representatives are desperate to get him out of Milan after they missed out on Champions League qualification last summer.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the Portugal international, it\u2019s been an awkward period ever since. He assisted Goncalo Ramos\u2019 last-gasp winner against Croatia, but his World Cup was otherwise underwhelming. And his name hasn\u2019t been as frequent fixture of the gossip columns as you might expect. Links to Fenerbahce probably aren\u2019t what he had in mind.<\/p>\n

We still expect Leao to leave the San Siro this summer, and this one is an open goal for Arsenal if they can\u2019t land Vini. But we wouldn\u2019t be shocked if Leao ends up signing for a Saudi Pro League club, with his tail between his legs, come late August.<\/p>\n

Raphinha<\/strong><\/p>\n

You imagine that certain provisions would have to be made for Vinicius Junior\u2019s lack of pressing and defensive effort. That\u2019s a trade-off potentially worth making when you look at what certain managers have got out of the likes of Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe.<\/p>\n

But what if you don\u2019t have to make that trade-off? There would be no such concerns with Raphinha.<\/p>\n

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick absolutely loves Raphinha \u2013 and it\u2019s not difficult to see why. Not only does the Brazilian work his socks off and press like a demon, but when fit and firing he\u2019s capable of extraordinary output<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Players that can offer both are worth their weight in gold, and you could see Arteta loving how he sets the tone and leads from the front.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, a fit Raphinha has been an increasingly rare sight. He started fewer than half of Barcelona\u2019s La Liga games last season, missed their crucial games in the run-in, and was also sidelined when push came to shove for Brazil at the World Cup. There\u2019s an increasing sense that he\u2019s run himself into the ground with his all-action style.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s for that reason that you could see Barcelona taking a last chance to cash in on the 29-year-old, especially given their wider financial situation and the additions of Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi. But it would also represent a major risk for Arsenal, and it wouldn\u2019t be a long-term investment.<\/p>\n

Keep him fit, there are few forwards you can imagine being a better fit for what Arteta is building in the here and now.<\/p>\n

Kaoru Mitoma<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vinicius is by a considerable distance the most high-profile and valuable left-sided attacker out of contract next summer. But he\u2019s not the only one.<\/p>\n

Scroll through this summer\u2019s biggest transfers and one trend stands out. Rather than gambling on talent from abroad after Wirtz\u2019s underwhelming debut campaign, clubs are throwing their money at Premier League-proven stars. Rogers, Tonali and Anderson headline a market increasingly driven by domestic deals.<\/p>\n

Mitoma isn\u2019t quite at that level, isn\u2019t especially young, and his stock has fallen a bit after a couple of underwhelming, injury-hit campaigns. But he remains a serviceable Premier League winger, puts in a shift, and Arsenal would know exactly what they\u2019re buying.<\/p>\n

Yann Gboho<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also out of contract in 2027, Gboho is worth keeping tabs on. He ranked seventh for dribbles completed<\/a> in Europe\u2019s five major leagues last season.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old would be pretty underwhelming, to put it mildly, if you stack him up against a world-class superstar like Vini.<\/p>\n

But he would represent a cut-price alternative that would allow the Gunners to invest more of this summer\u2019s transfer war chest elsewhere (Bruno Guimaraes?).<\/p>\n

Like Mitoma, he would by no means raise the ceiling of Arsenal\u2019s first-choice XI, he would raise the floor as a squad-filler and younger, passable-ish replacement for Leandro Trossard.<\/p>\n

Gboho notched eight goals and three assists in Ligue 1 last season and can also play in a more central attacking role, offering cover for Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze.<\/p>\n

A modest signing like this would also put a degree of faith in Gabriel Martinelli. Don\u2019t knock him down the pecking order, and give him one more season to see if he can turn a corner and reach the potential he hinted at in his early years. A big risk, given the winger\u2019s trajectory, though.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0Mikel Arteta\u2019s dream 2026-27 Arsenal XI as shock Vinicius Jr links emerge<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

TRY A QUIZ:\u00a0Can you name every player Arsenal have signed from La Liga?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The news that Arsenal are exploring a deal to sign Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior almost broke the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[76],"tags":[2725,18,19,17,2896,5004,132,87112],"class_list":["post-606776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-arsenal","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-latest","tag-popular","tag-sports","tag-vinicius-junior"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116993054388624914","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}