Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were reportedly hoping to bring Reinier Jesus to the Emirates Stadium with the help of the Gunners technical director Edu.
Arsenal have officially missed out on on Brazilian wonderkid Reinier Jesus, who had previously been linked with the Gunners.
The midfielder, who turned 18 on Sunday, is widely considered one of the most talented prospects in the game and had been linked with a number of top clubs over the past year.
Arsenal (Tuttomercatoweb) and Everton (Globo Esporte) were linked with Reinier, while Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Barcelona reportedly also threw their name in the hat (De Telegraaf).
A recent report in The Sun claimed that the influence of Edu – Arsenal’s technical director from Brazil – was appealing to Reinier.
In the end, however, Spain’s Real Madrid have won the battle for Reinier’s signature, snapping him up on a six-and-a-half-year deal for a fee reported by BBC Sport as £26million.
Reinier will link up with the Bernabeu side after Brazil’s pre-Olympic tournament finishes in February, and is expected to initially join up with their reserve side, RM Castilla.
The teenage prodigy only made his senior debut for Flamengo on 31 July last year and was part of the side that won the Brazilian league and the Copa Libertadores last season.
Real’s statement, as reported by The Guardian, describes Reinier as “one of the leading emerging stars in the world game” whose strengths include “technical ability and creative talent on the ball”.
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