Riccardo Calafiori said Arsenal need players like Brazilian pair Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius Junior to retain their Premier League title.

The Gunners are set to complete their protracted £75million move for Newcastle captain Guimaraes this week, putting an end to a long saga.

The Brazilian is waiting for permission to leave Newcastle’s training base in La Manga, Spain, to finalise the formalities of his move to north London.

Arsenal are also in the hunt for Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, whose contract expires next summer. That might prove more of a battle as Madrid fight to keep him.

When questioned about whether Arsenal need the likes of Guimaraes and Vinicius Junior after the 3-1 defeat by Real Betis in Dublin, Calafiori turned to a member of the Arsenal media team and asked: 'Is it official yet?'

He then added: ‘We are on that level now. We are on top. We want to win the league again, we want to be even better than last season if we can. We need these kind of players I think.’

On Guimaraes, he added: ‘It’s not official, so I cannot speak about it.’

Guimaraes, who joined Newcastle from Lyon in 2022, has made clear his intention to join Arsenal as the 28-year-old has emerged as Mikel Arteta's first-choice central midfield target.

Newcastle and Arsenal have been discussing the finer terms of the deal this week with a final agreement now considered a formality.

Guimaraes told Newcastle earlier this summer that he wanted to join Arsenal if a suitable offer arrived.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are awaiting a response from Vinicius Junior after offering the Arsenal target improved terms in excess of £19million a year.

The Brazil international’s current terms with Madrid expire at the end of next season and Arsenal have made him aware they are willing to step in if he fails to find agreement with the Spanish giants.

Talks between the player’s agents, general director Jose Angel Sanchez and chief scout Juni Calafat took place in Madrid on Wednesday. Jose Mourinho also underlined that the 26-year-old is also firmly in his plans.

The LaLiga giants are believed to be increasingly confident of keeping the Brazilian superstar Vinicius Jnr at the Bernabeu. 

Despite the increased confidence at the Bernabeu, the player added to the uncertainty on Wednesday night by deleting his entire Instagram history. 

Vinicius' page, which has 63.9million followers, currently displays no images or bio and he's also removed his profile picture.