Arsenal are under pressure to sign a genuine superstar this summer after ending a 22-year wait for the Premier League title and reaching the Champions League final, where they lost on penalties.
So far this window Arsenal have signed winger Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge for £36million and goalkeeper Illan Meslier on a free transfer, while also making Piero Hincapie's loan move permanent.
Arsenal's rivals have spent heavily. Chelsea have paid £117million for Morgan Rogers, a player who had been expected to join Arsenal for weeks before he exceeded the club's valuation. Tottenham have spent £92.5million on Sandro Tonali, £85million on Mateus Fernandes and £52million on Jan Paul van Hecke, and are also targeting Savinho for around £60million.
Manchester City have signed Elliot Anderson for £116million, while Manchester United have added Andrey Santos for £50million and Youri Tielemans for £35million.
Berta under scrutiny
The coming weeks will test sporting director Andrea Berta, who signed eight players last summer. Arsenal's ambitions have reportedly been complicated by a World Cup that has caused delays to deals for star names, with insiders expecting a busy period of transfer activity ahead.
Arsenal are pursuing Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior and are closely monitoring his contract situation. His deal expires next June, and while Real Madrid are keen to renew it, nothing has been decided yet.
Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is also on Arsenal's list. Daily Mail Sport understands Arsenal have identified other high-profile left wingers as alternatives if their pursuit of Vinicius fails, including Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola, who now appears close to joining Liverpool instead.
Wage structure at stake
Signing a player of Vinicius's stature would put Arsenal in territory they have avoided since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's £350,000-a-week contract, signed after he helped Arteta win the 2020 FA Cup final. Aubameyang was later stripped of the captaincy and left the club halfway through the three-year deal following disciplinary issues.
Vinicius is believed to currently earn between £247,000 and £279,000 a week after tax. To match that in the UK, Arsenal would need to pay him between £450,000 and £500,000 a week, which would make him the club's highest earner by a wide margin. Bukayo Saka is currently Arsenal's top earner on £300,000 a week.
Arsenal's hierarchy are said to be aware that landing a generational talent carries financial and dressing-room risks, but that ambition now has to be matched by action given the club's position at the top of English football.
A 90-year wait
Arsenal have won the league title 14 times but have not retained it in more than 90 years, with their last back-to-back to back-to-back run coming from 1933 to 1935. Staying at the top is expected to require competing financially with Europe's biggest clubs.
The next five weeks of the transfer window are expected to show whether Arsenal are ready to behave like one of Europe's elite clubs rather than simply chasing them.
