Vinicius Junior transfer decision revealed as Real Madrid star responds to Arsenal interest

Standard Sport reported on Saturday that the Gunners had added Vinicius Jr to their shortlist of attacking targets, but that they were yet to make an approach for the player.Per reports from Diario AS, though, Vinicius is not keen to leave Real this summer and would prefer to renew his contract. Talks over a renewal are expected to restart next week.The gap between Vinicius’ demands and Real’s offer is thought to be minimal and there is optimism a deal can be reached.Staying put: Vinicius JuniorPAVinicius’ preference to stay comes in spite of the fact Real are in late-stage talks to sign RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande in a transfer expected to be worth in excess of £100m.The two are both left-sided forwards and will be set to compete with one another for minutes.It is a blow for Arsenal to miss out on a top target, but a move might have been tricky to facilitate regardless of Vinicius’ desire. His £400,000-a-week wages bill would have been challenging to accommodate and would likely have forced other members of the Gunners squad to forgo pay raises, with Declan Rice and Arteta both in line for new deals.