Arsenal have reportedly maintained contacts with the camp of Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes after missing out on his teammate Vinicius Junior this summer.
The Gunners have previously targeted Rodrygo, but any move was put on hold as he struggled with a serious injury.
However, the Brazil international is now closer to a comeback, and it seems Arsenal have remained in touch with those close to the player.
That’s according to a report from TEAMtalk, which states that Arsenal are still interested in Rodrygo as an alternative to Vinicius on that left-hand side of their attack.
Should Arsenal keep trying to sign Rodrygo Goes?
Arsenal fans will probably have mixed views on the Rodrygo links, as he’s not really at the same level as someone like Vinicius, or even other summer targets like Morgan Rogers, Bradley Barcola, and Julian Alvarez.
The 25-year-old undoubtedly has quality and has shown himself to be an important player for Real Madrid on his day, but it’s debatable if he’s really the kind of player who’s going to lift Arsenal to the next level.
There are also surely legitimate concerns about Rodrygo’s fitness after such a lengthy spell out, with AFC already having enough problems with their current players when it comes to repeated absences through injury.
Vinicius would have been a hugely exciting statement signing by Arsenal, but it wasn’t possible, so it seems a strange strategy to go after what some might see as the less good version.
It will be interesting to see how Rodrygo performs once he’s back to full fitness and playing regularly again, but for now it doesn’t seem to make much sense for Arsenal to make him a priority.
The north London giants should have a vast scouting network that could perhaps help them find the next big thing if they’re unable to convince a genuine superstar like Vini Jr to join.
Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
Rodrygo maybe isn’t a Vini Jr but hes still a good player and a full Brazilian international. Assuming that he has fully recovered from his injury, he would definately be an upgrade on Eze as a rotation with Tzolis on the left wing. He is being kept out of the Madrid team by Mbappe and Vini jr!
I suspect he would be happy to make the switch to Arsenal and it would be at a much lower cost than Vini Jr.
Can not see any other team interested in him, but If Arsenal could get the out of form injury prone, but quality Rodrygo for apx £50m or less, then he would make an excellent back up to Tzolis. If Real Madrid want more, then Arsenal should quickly walk away. He would be a risk to injury and a risk to spells of lapses in form, but on his day he has the tools.