Former Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel has mocked Arsenal supporters for thinking they could sign Vinicius Jr and insisted the Gunners are not one of the games big boys. Arsenal publicly pursued Vinicius Jr this summer while he engaged in a stand off with Real Madrid over a new contract at the Santiago Bernabeu.Fans of the North London club, who clinched the Premier League title for the first time since 2004 last season, were excited at the possibility of the Brazil superstar moving to the Emirates but their hopes were dashed when the winger signed a new six-year deal at Madrid last week.And Mikel, who made nearly 250 appearances for Arsenals London rivals Chelsea, was quick to stick the boot in.He told The Obi One Podcast: I dont know what the Arsenal fans were expecting.You win the league after 22 years and then you all of a sudden think: thats it, youve arrived, youre one of the big boys again. No, youre not.Theyve just been humbled because I said it: theres no way Vinicius Junior is leaving Real Madrid to go to Arsenal, a club thats won one title in 22 years. This guy wins titles, hes won lots of titles at Real Madrid. He wants to win titles season after season, the Champions League, La Liga, competing year after year and winning those titles.Hes tasted what it feels like winning the Champions League, Arsenal have never won the Champions League. Zero.You expect a player who has won the Champions League with Real Madrid to leave that, everything that hes built at Real Madrid, and the squad that Jose Mourinho is assembling right now? They look to me like a team that at the end of the season, you probably see them in the Champions League final.Theres some team there at Real Madrid when you look at the players that they have. You expect him to leave that and go to a team that has won one league title in 22 years? F***ing hell.Vinicius Jr was just using ArsenalMikel repeated his claim that Vinicius Jr was merely using Arsenals interest to get an improved deal at Madrid.He added:All the Arsenal fans when I said that before, in my DMs, I saw messages, Weve clipped this, weve sent this video, and when it happens were absolutely going to come on here and destroy youI was looking at it and thinking thats just my opinion. I never thought he was going to leave.He was using you guys [Arsenal] to get a better deal, he was using them to get a better deal. I have no idea why Arsenal fans would genuinely believe that Vinicius Junior was going to go from Real Madrid to Arsenal. If you ask anybody I think it was only Arsenal fans who believed that was going to happen. I dont know what they were smoking.Arsenal have signed Greece winger Christos Tzolis to replace the departed Leandro Trossard on the left of their attack. Their summer recruitment has also included moves for former Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes and ex-Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier. Topics Arsenal F.C. Chelsea F.C. Real Madrid CF Vinicius Junior Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Why has the Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal been switched from Wembley to Cardiff? Jon Fisher 11th August, 2026 Diomandes former boss confident teenager can thrive on the right and form deadly trident at Real Madrid with Vinicius and Mbappe Jon Fisher 11th August, 2026 Arsenal: Season preview, ins and outs, one to watch and prediction can the Gunners go back to back? Jon Fisher 11th August, 2026 Endrick set to remain at Real Madrid after Aston Villa links Cian Cheesbrough 10th August, 2026 Carabao Cup draw: Chelsea face Luton as Spurs host Charlton and West Brom visit Newcastle in second round Cian Cheesbrough 10th August, 2026 Mourinho was the Chosen One at Manchester United before backing out and rejoining Chelsea Jon Fisher 10th August, 2026
