Vinicius Jr. 'Very Happy' with Game Time at Real Madrid, Talks Los Blancos Form

Vinicius Jr. has said he is happy to be featuring for Real Madrid's first team since his arrival in the summer.

The Brazilian joined from Flamengo on his 18th birthday in July. On Sunday, he started his seventh consecutive game as Real beat Espanyol 4-2 in La Liga.

"I've just arrived and I'm already playing," he said, per AS' Gonzalo Castro. "I'm very happy."

The forward had played just 12 minutes of senior football across two appearances under former Real manager Julen Lopetegui.

Santiago Solari replaced him in the dugout on October 29, and Vinicius has now made 18 first-team appearances for Los Blancos, contributing 10 assists and two goals.

Asked what advice he had been given by Solari, Vinicius said: "You have to have personality and play well. The group has also helped me a lot."

The youngster has displayed some impressive confidence despite being an inexperienced new arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu, as ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan observed:

With each passing performance, he has taken another step toward establishing himself as a regular for Real, offering pace, directness and energy in the final third.

Tom Allnutt of Agence France-Presse believes he could be a long-term option for them in their starting lineup, while TalkSport's Lee Roden has also been impressed with him so far:

Real have won their last three matches in all competitions, scoring 10 goals along the way.

Vinicius is hoping they can maintain that kind of form when the UEFA Champions League returns in February: "We played very well again, and the group is getting stronger with the returns of [Marco] Asensio, [Gareth] Bale. We have to win games and get to the Champions League in the best possible form."

Los Blancos play Ajax on February 13 in the first leg of their last-16 tie, with the second following on March 5.

Real are aiming to win Europe's premier competition for the fourth year running, and as they're 10 points behind Barcelona in La Liga, the Champions League will take priority over their domestic efforts in the second half of the campaign.

Vinicius looks set to play a far more significant role in that than when he first arrived.