Arsenal's star players 'asking questions' as extraordinary Vinicius Junior demands emerge

Arsenal could be causing themselves major issues in their pursuit of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior as star players will be concerned.

The Brazil superstar is expected to command a wage packet worth upwards of the £400,000 per week he is currently making with Los Blancos, should he make the switch.

A fee of that magnitude would dwarf the wages of Arsenal's other star players, and potenitally cause problems with agents poised to hold new contract talks.

Former Man United chief scout Mick Brown warned Football Insider that singing Vinicius Junior could be more trouble than it is worth for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.

Bukayo Saka is currently the Gunners' highest-paid player, having put pen to paper on a deal worth around £300,000 per week in February, to extend his stay at the Emirates until 2030.

Vinicius Junior's pay packet would outrank even that of Saka, and could lead to discontent behind the scenes which Arteta would be forced to snuff out.

Will Arsenal make a move to sign Vinicius Junior?

Football Insider revealed on 26 July that Arsenal have held preliminary talks over a move to sign Vinicius Junior, with intermediaries heavily involved in the early stages.

The deal has been discussed heavily behind the scenes at the Emirates as they weigh up whether it is possible form a financial perspective.

Meanwhile, much will depend on whether Real Madrid are willing to let him go, as they remain locked in contract talks that have been ongoing for months.

"It's going to be very difficult for Arsenal to sign Vinicius Junior," Brown told Football Insider.

"The biggest problem I can see is that they will have to pay him a massive wage, we're talking about more than the £400,000 per week that he's already on at Real Madrid.

"He's not going to leave there for any less than that, and by all accounts, it'll be a higher wage than that if Arsenal are to convince him.

"First of all, you have to question whether Arsemal are willing to pay that, and then if they are, it's going to lead to major problems with some of their other star players.

"I've seen it happen loads of times at lots of different clubs, somebody new comes in on a huge wage, and all of the other top players start asking questions about their contracts.

"Agents get involved, they're knocking on the door and saying, 'If you're going to pay him that much, my client is worth this much', and you have to bat them away.

"So it causes more trouble than it's worth behind the scenes, you end up with unsettled or unhappy players and agents and then that leads to more issues.

"That's the biggest reason why I can't see Arsenal doing the deal, they've always been quite smart with their finances and managing budgets, and this would be a major departure from that."

What would it take for Arsenal to sign Vinicius Junior?

Alongside the hefty financial demands which Vinicius Junior is set to make for any move away from Real Madrid, convincing his club to sell will also take a big fee.

Los Blancos are reluctant to lose the superstar this summer as Jose Mourinho eyes a return to their previous trophy-winning form ahead of the new season.

As a result, former Tottenham scout Bryan King told Football Insider that Arsenal will have to fork out a fee of around £150million to bring Vinicius Junior to the Emirates.

The 26-year-old's contract at the Bernabeu has just one year remaining, meaning he could be allowed to move on, but suggestions of a discounted fee are unlikely to bear fruit.

Arsenal have been strict with their budget this summer, which played a part in them missing out on Morgan Rogers, but could break the bank to sign Vinicius Junior.