Hand of Arsenal, an account with more than 370,000 followers, posted: "Arsenal Football Club have personal terms agreed in principle with Vinicius Junior. Roc Nation will go armed into negotiations with Real Madrid with a monstrous offer from the English Champions…….over to you Vinicius Junior."
With his Real Madrid deal set to run out in the summer of 2027, the 26-year-old enters the season with just one year to run on his current terms. Roc Nation, the sports agency founded by Jay-Z, handles his representation and is understood to have opened talks with Arsenal officials over what a deal might look like.
However, more established reporting paints a considerably murkier picture than the ITK account suggests. Sky Sports has reported that new Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho rates Vinicius highly and wants him to sign an extension, with club president Florentino Perez personally involved in pushing for the winger to stay, while a separate report citing Spanish outlet AS suggested Vinicius himself has now decided he wants to remain in the Spanish capital and renew his terms.
Real Madrid are also closing in on a move for RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande in a deal worth around €135m, though sources close to the club insist that signing has no bearing on the Vinicius situation.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has made no secret of his ambition to strengthen significantly this summer, telling the club's app this week: "We all know about the context of this transfer window. From ownership to the board, the sporting director and myself, we know that we want to take this club to a different level.
"That is going to require a better squad, better individuals. We have identified where we have opportunities to grow and to improve and to evolve our game and what is going to be needed to achieve that. Hopefully very soon we can start to put things in a very concrete way."
Left wing remains an area Arsenal are keen to strengthen, with Gabriel Martinelli's long-term future unclear and Leandro Trossard having already left for Besiktas this summer.
History suggests some caution is warranted before assuming any deal is close: several Real Madrid and Barcelona stars have flirted with Premier League interest down the years only to sign lucrative renewals and stay put, and for now Vinicius has given no public indication — through interviews, quotes or social media — that he wants to leave the Bernabeu.