Arsenal urged to hijack transfer for star ‘with higher ceiling’ than Vinicius Junior

Kevin Nolan has named the two alternate Arsenal transfer targets that suit the club more than a prospective move for Vinicius Junior.

The Gunners are contemplating making a move for Real Madrid’s No.7 amid his continued contract standoff with the Spanish giants.

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Vinicius’ contract saga has been the biggest storyline of the transfer window, with the winger set to become a free agent next summer.

Jose Mourinho is understood to want to keep Vini Jr. at the Bernabeu, while club-to-club talks with Mikel Arteta’s side are not yet underway.

talkSPORT reported last week that Arsenal viewed the 26-year-old as an option rather than their top target.

Their other targets to upgrade at left-wing include Bradley Barcola, whom talkSPORT has revealed wants to join Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Christos Tzolis has already completed a move to the club while Arteta remains a long-time admirer of Nico Williams.

And Premier League legend Nolan believes deals for Barcola and Williams seem much more fitting of the current division champions.

Arsenal should be going for a Barcola or Nico Williams, not Vinicius

On Vinicius, he told talkSPORT: “He’s obviously a complex character. His off-the-field stuff probably doesn’t suit what an Arteta looks at.

“And I think they do go into all that great detail as well.

“What’s the character of the person? What’s his attitude like? What’s his personality like?

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“I think someone like a Nico Williams would be perfect for an Arsenal,” Nolan continued. “In that left-hand side role, or Barcola, if you like.

“They’re the ones who I thought would suit more of an Arsenal-type player than Vinicius Jr.”

The ceiling is higher for Barcola

Arsenal’s domestic rivals Liverpool are readying a €100million (around £85m) offer, plus add-ons for Paris Saint-Germain forward Barcola.

That falls significantly short of PSG‘s starting valuation of €170m (around £145m), which would prove to be a Premier League record.

European football expert Andy Brassell believes that he’d still be more comfortable with that fee in light of other money being splashed around this summer already, with Elliot Anderson (£116m) and Morgan Rogers (£117m).

He told talkSPORT’s Trans Europe Express podcast: “If you’re looking at £145 million, for example, and this is just a ballpark figure for the moment, it does seem like a lot of money.

“But I think I’d be more comfortable paying £145m for Barcola than I would £117m for Morgan Rogers. And I say that as someone who’s a huge Morgan Rogers fan. I think he’ll do great for Chelsea.

“He’s proved himself already for Aston Villa, for England, of course, and is Premier League proven. I don’t think Rogers is ever going to get to the point where he scores 20 goals in the season.

“Barcola could do that. And I think that’s the interesting thing.
Before [Khvicha] Kvaratskhelia arrives at PSG, there’s this sense that Barcola is going to be the guy who’s going to become the next major goal scorer in the team once Kylian Mbappe moves aside.

“He started the 2024-25 season really, really well. And of course, I think being dropped from the XI and deprioritised, but look, there’s no shame in losing your place to Kvaratskhelia, but I think it really affected his confidence. And he doesn’t want to be a pinch hitter.

“He wants to be a main guy. I think that is the thing that really appeals to me about Barcola.

“Not just that he’s great now, but I think of all the big-name players, even someone like Vinicius Junior, I think the ceiling is higher for Barcola because Barcola can get loads better than he currently is.

“And he’s very, very good at the moment.”