Arsenal rocked by Barcelona move for superstar striker: report

Arsenal have been rocked by Barcelona's rumoured interest in their target striker.

Mikel Arteta is reportedly looking to add a new forward in the summer months, with sporting director Andrea Berta already working behind the scenes to bring his plan to fruition.

The Gunners do have Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all currently on the books, although the latter's future has been widely discussed over the last 12 months.

Arsenal may have to work harder than Barcelona to sign Argentine forward

Barcelona's interest comes as legendary forward Robert Lewandowski isn't getting any younger, and at 37, the Catalan giants are naturally starting to look at replacements.

Although loanee forward Marcus Rashford can also operate as a striker, reports are unclear as to whether Barca wants to keep him beyond this summer, with his loan deal set to expire in June.

The real problem for Arsenal in this back-and-forth battle for the player is that he already plays in Spain and may wish to remain in LaLiga, meaning Berta will have to work harder in terms of what they can offer him.

Most players dream of leading the line for Barcelona, truth be told, but when it comes to playing in the Premier League, he already has plenty of experience doing that, having won the competition twice already.

Of course, the player we are talking about is Julian Alvarez, who Fichajes claim is top of Barcelona's list to sign when the day comes that Lewandowski naturally has to step aside.

Alvarez has been a huge success during his time at Atletico Madrid, so far scoring 40 goals in 86 games for Diego Simeone's side.

Transfermarkt values the Argentine forward at €100m (£87m).

Alvarez has already spoken out on his future this season amid reports he could leave Spain.

He said: “Look, it doesn’t bother me. I try not to pay much attention, but I know what’s being said. It’s all over social media. I think it’s more what’s being said online than what’s actually happening.

“I’m very focused on this season, on what lies ahead with Atletico Madrid. So, I try to tune it out and think about myself, about continuing to grow as a player, and about winning.”