‘I don’t know what they were smoking’ – Arsenal trolled by Premier League icon over failed Vinicius Jr transfer pursuit

JOHN OBI MIKEL brutally told Arsenal fans that Vinicius Jr was “using them” during his transfer saga. The former Chelsea midfielder said that the Real Madrid superstar treated the Premier League champions as pawns to secure a better deal. Vinicius Junior was using Arsenal to secure a better deal at Real Madrid, says John Obi Mikel Credit: AFP Speaking on his podcast, Mikel questioned why Arsenal ever thought that was possible Credit: YouTube Last week, Vinicius, 26, agreed a new six-year deal with the 15-time European champions despite many thinking he could move to North London. Speaking on the Obi One podcast, Mikel said: “I don’t know what the Arsenal fans were expecting. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! “You win the league after 22 years and then you all of a sudden think: that’s it, you’ve arrived, you’re one of the big boys again. No, you’re not. “They’ve just been humbled because I said it, there’s no way Vinicius Jr is leaving Real Madrid to go to Arsenal, a club that’s won one title in 22 years. “This guy wins titles, he’s 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. “He’s 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 he’s 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. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Play Dream Team this season! £100,000 in prize money up for grabs in 2026/27 Free to enter Play in Mini Leagues against your mates £60,000 jackpot for the overall winner £1,000 prize for winning Gameweek 1 PLAY DREAM TEAM NOW! “There’s 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.’ The Brazilian is set to become the second-highest earner at the Bernabeu, with only Kylian Mbappe ahead of him. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta – who once described himself as “absolutely smitten” about the potential move – will have to bolster his ranks elsewhere. The Gunners have already secured Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle, as well as Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge and Illan Meslier from Leeds. Mikel continued: “All the Arsenal fans when I said that before, in my DMs, I saw messages, ‘We’ve clipped this, we’ve sent this video, and when it happens we’re absolutely going to come on here and destroy you…’ “I was looking at it and thinking that’s 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. Bruno Guimaraes was unveiled at the Emirates before their 3-2 Dortmund defeat on Sunday Credit: Getty Arsenal ticket and hospitality deals GET tickets to see Arsenal home games with these official deals. The packages include optional upgrades to VIP hospitality. 21 Aug v Coventry City — BOOK HERE 6 Sep v Chelsea — BOOK HERE 10 Oct v Leeds United — BOOK HERE 24 Oct v Everton — BOOK HERE 7 Nov v Hull City — BOOK HERE More games available here. *If you click on a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue. “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 don’t know what they were smoking.” Comment now