Arsenal hopes of signing Rodrygo this summer appeared to receive a boost on Sunday night, as the Real Madrid winger was unused in their Club World Cup win over Pachuca.
There’s a lot of focus on Rodrygo at this month’s Club World Cup tournament, with a sense that it’s ‘do or die’ for his Real Madrid career.
After a relatively underwhelming start to 2025 and strong interest from Arsenal, the winger is going to become a serious candidate for a summer sale if he doesn’t quickly win a spot in Xabi Alonso’s team.
The tournament didn’t start badly, with Rodrygo providing an assist and playing 65 minutes against Al-Hilal. But on Sunday night, he was dropped from the starting lineup against Pachuca, and he didn’t come on despite Alonso making five substitutions.
Marca report that Rodrygo has the feeling that he can’t quite find his place in the current Real Madrid system, and that he didn’t even come out to warm up in the second half of Sunday’s match.
John Cross writes for the Mirror that Arsenal may have to play a waiting game to sign Rodrygo, with Real Madrid potentially willing to sell. The Spanish club would want £70m+ for Rodrygo’s sale, and the player would want to be one of the club’s top earners.
Cross adds that there’s a belief Real Madrid may be willing to do business, and that Rodrygo could fancy a fresh challenge.
But despite Arsenal’s genuine interest, they’ll have to be patient. Real Madrid are still playing in the Club World Cup, and Rodrygo isn’t likely to leave mid-tournament. Cross adds that the La Liga club could lower their demands later in the window.
Mario Cortegana recently reported for The Athletic that Rodrygo has already been approached through intermediaries by some Premier League clubs, with Arsenal among them.
The Gunners like Rodrygo and feel he can add a new dimension to their attack, but the player’s father and agent don’t want to enter into negotiations until the winger has spoken to Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso.
Rodrygo wants to feel important and feels more comfortable playing on the left or centrally, rather than on the right. So it’s up to Alonso to convince him he’ll have a key role in one of those positions, and Sunday’s game didn’t do much to help that cause.