Arsenal prepared to sanction massive clearout to sign Vinicius Jr & Bruno Guimaraes

Arsenal are reportedly prepared to sanction a major clearout of players to seal the double transfer of Vinicius Junior and Bruno Guimaraes this summer.

French outlet L'Equipe reported on Friday that Arsenal had agreed a £77 million fee with Newcastle to sign Brazil midfielder Guimaraes, with Lyon due 20 per cent of the profit after they sold Guimaraes for around £40 million in 2022.

Reports from Newcastle's side have since disputed that, but The Chronicle claim the midfielder will hold crunch talks with the club's management when he returns to pre-season training on Monday.

As far as Vinicius is concerned, that particular deal would prove to be far more complex.

The Brazil winger only has a year left on his contract at Real Madrid and both parties are in talks over an extension but are yet to reach an agreement.

The Athletic's David Ornstein noted on Saturday that, while the financial differences between Real and Vinicius 'remain significant', the 26-year-old is believed to be open to lowering his demands.

If a deal cannot be reached, however, Arsenal are waiting in the wings to ensure Vinicius becomes what, in all likelihood, would be their highest-paid player of all-time.

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He earns around €18 million net per year at the Bernabeu - around £300,000 per week - and Arsenal are said to be prepared to break their own wage structure to sign him. Real will hold another meeting with Vinicius once he returns to pre-season training on Sunday.

The Independent report that the Gunners are looking to sell in order to get both deals done, and are willing to listen to offers for five players.

One of those players, Christian Norgaard, is closing in on a move to fellow Premier League side Everton, but it is in attack where Arsenal appear likely to trim down.

It is claimed that they are willing to sell Gabriel Martinelli, who Vinicius could effectively replace on the left flank, while striker Viktor Gyokeres could also be lined up for what would be a surprise sale.

Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Jesus are also said to be surplus to requirements if Guimaraes and Vinicius both move to the Emirates Stadium.

Arteta addresses Vinicius Jr pursuit

Before Arsenal's 4-1 pre-season friendly win over Girona on Saturday, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was asked by reporters in Spain about the club's pursuit of Vinicius Junior.

The Spaniard, who is said to be personally keen on signing the Brazilian, initially laughed before replying: "Thank you so much!"

When asked again about Arsenal's general transfer plans, he said: "We are very active, trying to improve and evolve the team. That's clear. We expect to have movements in the next few weeks, obviously, because we want to get better like anybody else.

"You can see the transfer market and our opponents... what we are doing, we cannot sit still. We are very ambitious with what we want to do."