Mikel Arteta would not be drawn on questions about Arsenal’s interest in Vinicius Junior, but he did insist the champions were ‘very ambitious’ and ‘won’t sit still’ in the summer market.
The 26-year-old winger has been heavily linked with a move to north London as Arteta looks to bolster his frontline.
Vinicius’ contract at Real Madrid expires next summer and the Gunners are interested in signing the player.
Just days after Arteta said that new signings are needed to take Arsenal to a ‘different dimension’, he doubled down on his assertions.
When asked about whether more signings are expected in light of the Vinicius reports, Arteta said following Arsenal’s 4-1 pre-season victory over Girona: ‘Well we are really 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.
Vinicius’ contract at Real Madrid expires next summer and the Gunners are interested in signing the 26-year-old Brazilian winger
‘And you can just see it. The transfer market and our opponents, what we are doing – we won’t sit still. And we are very ambitious in what we want to do.
‘The margins are very small. And because we want to get better and the level is going to increase, we need to increase the competition internally. We need to make sure we identify the things that we don’t have in the team, to have bigger margins. And that’s the way we have to think.’
Max Dowman shone with a goal and an assist in the match, issuing a reminder ahead of what could be an important season for the 16-year-old.
‘That’s what we want,’ added Arteta. ‘When you play for Arsenal, the expectations should be high and should be expecting really good things.
‘We know what he’s (Dowman) capable of doing. We want to be more consistent in terms of the performances and the actions that he can deliver.
‘But I think today he had a really good game.’
