Vinicius Junior is preparing for a return to Real Madrid amid ongoing speculation over his future which has lasted for over a month now.
The Brazilian winger has been tipped to make his way to North London where Arsenal are reportedly ready to snap him up, despite his astonishing wages.
At 26 years old, Vinicius has one year left on his existing Real contract, where he currently earns £15M a year. This is far more than any Arsenal player and if he arrived with a similar wage Austin believes he could destroy the balance of the squad.
"I really think it could blow up the structure at Arsenal," Austin explained. "I don’t think it would be the look, or the way Arsenal have been over the last four, five, six years.
"We all criticised (Arsenal in the past), but look how they’ve managed to build themselves into this position, and to then bring a player like that in… the structure would just be blown out of the water. He’s going to be earning nearly two-and-a-half times more than (Declan) Rice!
"That’s how footballers think, regardless of how fans expect them to be. If he joins Arsenal it’ll frighten the majority of the Premier League, it really would. But I think it could cause more harm than good for Arsenal football club, I really do."
ESPN reported last week that Madrid would be open to the possibility of a departure for Vinicius this summer but contract talks are still underway between him and the Spanish side.
Madrid do not want to risk letting Vinicius Jr walk away for free next summer as he can negotiate with clubs in January, something Arsenal may be keen to do.