Arsenal are reportedly stepping up efforts to land Atlético Madrid star Julian Alvarez this summer, with Spanish outlet Marca claiming the Gunners are “pushing the hardest” of any club to secure the Argentine’s signature.
Alvarez has enjoyed a stunning debut season in Spain, having joined Atlético from Manchester City in a deal worth up to €90 million. The 24-year-old ended the campaign as the club’s top scorer with 29 goals across all competitions, while also contributing seven assists. His prolific form was vital to Diego Simeone’s side securing a third-place finish in La Liga.
Unsurprisingly, his breakout season has attracted the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with Arsenal believed to be at the front of the queue. Marca reports that Alvarez’s representatives will meet with three clubs this week, and that Andrea Berta, Arsenal’s sporting director, has placed Alvarez among his top summer priorities.
A goalscorer is top of Arsenal’s transfer wishlist
The Gunners’ need for a proven centre-forward has never been more obvious. For the first time in over 100 years, Arsenal finished a league season without a single player reaching double figures for goals. That unwanted statistic underlines why Mikel Arteta and his recruitment team are under pressure to deliver a striker capable of hitting at least 25-30 goals a season.
While Alvarez would fit the bill in terms of output, there are still concerns over the feasibility of a deal. Having only just arrived in Madrid, he is unlikely to be sold cheaply. Reports suggest it could take a bid in excess of €100 million to tempt Atlético into parting ways with him.
Is Alvarez the right fit for Arsenal?
Although Alvarez has been prolific this season, questions remain over his suitability to lead the line as a lone striker. Both at Manchester City and Atlético, he has often been deployed either as part of a front two or behind a more physical number nine. His size and style might not immediately lend themselves to Arsenal’s current system.
That said, few would question his talent or work ethic. His movement, pressing, and eye for goal are all elite, and with the right setup around him, Alvarez could be a game-changing addition.
Whether Arsenal make real progress remains to be seen, but if the club are serious about solving their goalscoring issues, they may need to move fast and think big.
Would Julian Alvarez be the right striker for Arsenal? Let us know what you think in the comments.
BENJAMIN KENNETH
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Do Arsenal actually know who they want, first Isak who seems unobtainable, Sesko, Viktor, now Alvarez, they need to make their mind up and move fast or lose out
I’m pretty sure we do know who we want, all these players that we are linked to daily are just rumours as I’m sure the club doesn’t disclose their transfer targets to obscure publications and obscure news outlets.
I’ve not heard from the Arsenal that they would like to buy any particular player including the ones you mentioned.
Majority of the stories are just media things. We will know when they sign a striker. I’m just concerned that Arsenal don’t go for players until their stakes become unreasonably high. Isak, Alvarez etc. They had better snap Rayan Cherki up before others do and he now becomes too expensive to get. The boy would put Odegard on his toes if brought in. We can get him for less than 40m now.
Ditto on Cherki
He scores goals, doesn’t he? If he’s available for a reasonable fee,why not? This is a guy who was instrumental to teams that won the World Cup, Champions League and the Premier League. He’s won everything there is to win in football.
Led the line just fine on his own for City last season when Haaland got injured. In fact when Haaland returned, some were calling for Haaland to earn his way back into the starting lineup because Alvarez had proven too good to be dropped at that point. None of the other guys we’ve been linked with is anywhere near Alvarez.
That said, I don’t think this story has legs because Atletico won’t be selling him except for ridiculous fee.
Unforrtunately my optimissm about Arteta is gone.
He and Odegaard are a tragedy. Neither can handle pressure and in the critical games they run around flapping their arms but do little else.
The goal by Odegaard in the last minute of the last game of the season simply amplified what he did not do against PSG and many other high pressure games that we should have won! It does apply to the whole team letting themselves down and I blame Arteta not preparing himself or the players to handle the pressure.