Vinicius may yet regret staying at Real Madrid
On paper, the Brazilian, Diomande, and Mbappe make up a lethal and frightening trio, but without the ball it could turn into a big problem — one that might make him kick himself for not arriving at the perfect situation that awaited at Arsenal.
Vinicius has decided to stay at Real Madrid. After 18 tense months with the club's management, an offer from Arsenal forced the Spanish club's heads to submit an offer to the Brazilian that approaches his demands. According to reports, Vinicius wanted a base salary of 30 million euros and to receive 20 million euros plus bonuses, some of which are almost impossible to miss — which would raise his salary to about 25 million euros.
It seems that at Real Madrid they are counting on a front trio of Vini on the left, Yan Diomande — the most expensive signing in the club's history — on the right, and Kylian Mbappe as a central striker.
On paper, this is an excellent attacking force: a fast trio of smart and direct dribblers. It is very difficult to see a team that manages to stop this trio over 90 minutes — that is, they will almost certainly score in every game. However, at least two of them do not exactly contribute their share to the defense, and the midfield will have to work very hard in their place — especially in Jose Mourinho's system.
Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius press and intercept less than the average strikers and wingers in La Liga, and when both are on the pitch — and according to heat maps they also like to be in the same areas — opponents can plan their formation and movement accordingly.
Will Vini and Mbappe change thanks to Mourinho and become "off the ball" beasts, as they never were? Maybe. And maybe Vini's signing of a new contract simply left — and even exacerbated — Real Madrid's main problem: its two best players turn it, de facto, into a team that defends with eight players, and in modern football this is a quite serious disability.
And one must also wonder about Vinicius's own decision. He received from Arsenal one of the biggest offers in the history of the Premier League — more than 25 million euros a year. He had an opportunity to be the "face" of the Premier League and receive 100% of image rights, which with the league's marketing machine behind him could have brought him to historical global branding levels for him.
Also, at Arsenal — the best team in the world without the ball — they were looking for what Mikel Arteta defined as "individual talent", which would be surrounded by many hardworking players who would allow him to conserve his energy for the runs and dribbles he loves. According to reports, this is exactly what Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's coach, and sporting director Andrea Berta sold him.
"It should hurt Real, Mourinho is furious": Rodri's choice of Barcelona stirs Spain
In recent years, about 42% of Arsenal's attacks came from the right side, mainly thanks to Bukayo Saka, compared to about 26% from the middle and 32% from the left. That is, there was a perfect hole in the shape of Vinicius on the left side of Arsenal's attack — and now, apparently, another left winger will fill it.
The Vinicius saga this summer may leave Arsenal very frustrated that it did not manage to upgrade significantly in the attack, but it is possible that the one who will be more frustrated in the end by Vini's decision will be the Brazilian himself — and also the team he chose to stay with.
