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The Real Madrid stars were pictured at the Arsenal training ground ahead of Brazil's International friendly against Senegal
Arsenal's under-16 side met with Real Madrid stars Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr and posed for pictures with the Brazilians after their training session.
The pair were spotted at Arsenal’s training ground ahead of Brazil’s international friendly against Senegal at the Emirates Stadium.
The match will mark Brazil’s ninth game at Arsenal’s home ground. Their most recent appearance came in 2018, when Neymar Jr’s goal secured a 1-0 win over Uruguay.
Now, seven years later, Carlo Ancelotti’s side will return to the Premier League leaders’ ground - and it proved to be a lucky day for some of Arsenal's youngsters, with the duo showing their class by posing for pictures.
Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo were both pictured on Arsenal U16s defender Hakeem Abubakar’s Instagram account, with the former smiling with six academy stars and the latter seen posing for a quick snap as Abubakar pointed at him.
Had Arsenal's summer worked out differently, Abubakar and the club's academy stars may have seen him knocking around Emirates more often.
Rodrygo was heavily linked with a move to north London over the summer, with both Arsenal and Tottenham interested in the 24-year-old forward.
Mikel Arteta’s side appeared closest to securing his signature, with the Arsenal boss keen to add another winger to provide competition and rotation options for star boy Bukayo Saka.
Although the two parties were strongly linked, a deal never came to fruition despite Rodrygo's dwindling minutes since Kylian Mbappe's arrival.
An interview in October with Spanish outlet AS revealed Rodrygo’s desire to remain at Real Madrid.
He said: "...I’ve always said: ‘As long as Real Madrid wants me, I’ll be here.’ If one day Real Madrid says to me: ‘Rodry, find a team,’ I’ll say ‘OK.’ But that hasn’t happened."
However, reports from ESPN Brazil now suggest Rodrygo is ‘dissatisfied’ with his current game time, and that a move to the Premier League could be the most likely outcome if he decides to leave, potentially putting Arsenal back in contention for his signature.
Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr’s meeting with Arsenal’s U16s comes shortly after the youngsters lifted the U16 National Tournament title, beating Aston Villa 2-1 in the final.
Abubakar, pictured alongside the Madrid duo, will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of 15-year-old Max Dowman, who has enjoyed a rapid rise through the academy ranks.
Dowman made his first-team debut during Arsenal’s pre-season friendly against AC Milan and went on to become the second-youngest player in Premier League history when he came off the bench against Leeds United in August.
Arteta is a known admirer of Dowman, previously saying: "For him, everything is natural, for him everything is OK. It is the way he plays. That's the secret, that he doesn't make a big fuss of it. He just does what he does best which is to play football with a lot of courage and determination."
Arsenal’s U16s now head into the new campaign aiming to defend their U16 Premier League Cup crown after last season’s final victory over local rivals Chelsea.
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