According to UOL, Arsenal had made an approach to sign to Vinicius Junior earlier this summer. The Brazilian, following a promising campaign at Real Madrid last campaign, has struggled to flourish in his new role this season. The Brazilian news outlet has now revealed that the Gunners, along with Paris Saint-Germain, were interested in the services of the winger. However, they ended up signing Nicolas Pepe.
Vinicius’ spell at Real Madrid
After finally making a move to Real Madrid last summer, Vinicius showed a lot of promise last season. Even though the youngster was involved in just three goals in 18 league matches, his overall influence was greater. He was, in fact, one of the bright spots in an otherwise dire Real Madrid season that saw them finish third in the league.
A knee injury halted Vinicius’ progress during the final phase of the campaign. But essentially, the expectations on the winger were high at the start of this season, despite Real Madrid signing the likes of Eden Hazard, Rodrygo and Luka Jovic this summer. But, the 19-year-old has endured a terrible start to the campaign under Zinedine Zidane so far.
Vinicius has appeared in all three of Real Madrid’s games this season. But, only one of them was a start while the attacker failed to provide any productivity going forward. As a result, Los Blancos have won only one of their three matches so far, failing to take advantage of Barcelona’s disastrous start to the campaign.
Was Vinicius a better option than Pepe?
As far as gameplay is concerned, there is not much difference between Pepe and Vinicius. Both are explosive wingers, who like to take on defenders and make darting runs inside the 18-yard box. They are also blessed with the sheer pace that makes them a scourge for the defenders, especially on the counter.
That being said, Pepe is a much more experienced individual, having already enjoyed two successful seasons in Ligue 1 prior to his move to Arsenal. Vinicius, in contrast, played his first season in Europe during the 2018/19 campaign. Even then, he was involved in only 864 minutes of league football.
And at the age of 19, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the youngster struggling to adapt to the fast-paced nature of the Premier League. As for Pepe, he has already put in some promising performances for Arsenal and looks likely to become a hit at the Emirates.
Therefore, the Gunners took the right choice by going after Pepe this summer.
