Arsenal star Calafiori backs swoop for Guimaraes and Vinicius Jr, insisting Gunners can lure football’s biggest names | OneFootball

Riccardo Calafiori has endorsed Arsenal's moves for Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius Junior and has said the club can attract the world's top talent.

Arsenal are closing in on the £75m transfer of Newcastle United captain Guimaraes, who is due in North London to undergo a medical.

The Gunners are also interested in a deal for Brazil teammate Vinicius Junior,who is stalling on a new contract at Real Madrid. The latter is considered one of the world's finest footballers and Calafiori has said Arsenal are now 'on that level' to attract big names.

He said thePremier League champions want to be even better after last season's drought-breaking championship win.

"We are on that level now. On top," the Italian said toSky Sports.

"We want to win the league again and be even better than last season, if we can. We need these kind of players."

Calafiori has had a full pre-season with Arsenal after Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. However, a large bulk of the squad are yet to return after their exploits in North America over the summer.

Arsenal face Manchester City in the Community Shield next week, and Calafiori has predicted a tricky start to the season for the top teams, as World Cup representatives report back late for pre-season.

"It's going to be a tricky start to the season, because of that. All of the big teams are going to have this problem. We're still waiting for them. I hope they're going to be in form and ready to help us. In 10 days we already play in a final, so we need to be ready."