Arsenal are looking to reinforce their title winning squad with the signing of Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid.
Former Manchester City striker Alvarez has been subject to significant interest over the last year, with the Premier League champions the latest to try and lure him from the Spanish capital.
The Gunners ended their 22-year title drought last season after three consecutive second place finishes but the striker position remains one of the only in their team that is yet to be nailed down by one name.
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Arsenal pushing to sign Alvarez ahead of pre-season
The Gunners signed Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon last summer, but he struggled in his first season at the Emirates, and was dropped for the Champions League final against PSG in favour of Kai Havertz.
Havertz spent much of the season injured and is not a natural striker, so Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal hierarchy are looking to bolster their attacking options as they look to go back-to-back ahead of the new season.
Now, The Independent are reporting that Arsenal are making a serious play to sign Julian Alvarez before the start of pre-season.
Barcelona and Real Madrid have previously held interest, and the latter even saw a €150 million bid rejected before the World Cup.
The report by Miguel Delaney claims that Alvarez has long been Arteta’s primary attacking target, but with the deal seemingly difficult to make, they have looked elsewhere, including PSG’s Bradley Barcola.
However, interest from the two Spanish giants seems to have regressed and Arsenal now believe a deal may be possible, although the player does wish to remain in Spain.
One major sticking point for the deal may be the price tag. Arsenal have previously stated they don’t wish to bid above £90 million, whereas Atletico don’t want to sell, and if they did would want in the region of north of £100 million. It remains to be seen if either side will compromise significantly.
Alvarez is currently on international duty in the United States with Argentina, and he finally opened his account for the 2026 World Cup with a stunning effort against Switzerland in the quarter-finals which effectively won La Albiceleste the tie and sent them to the last four for the second tournament in a row.
The report also claims that the Gunners believe they can also sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, and in FourFourTwo’s view, signing both would prove a huge statement of intent for their ambitions for the coming season.
According to Transfermarkt Alvarez is currently worth €100 million. He will next be in action in the World Cup semi-final against England on Wednesday, 15 July.
