Arteta made the call himself, and got a no
MARCA reports that Mikel Arteta spoke directly with Julian Alvarez in recent days, trying to talk the Argentina striker into a move to north London before the window shuts. The answer came back plainly. Alvarez does not want the Premier League this summer.
That leaves Arsenal stuck. The club had a route to Atletico Madrid ready to open and were only waiting on a green light from the player to move fast. It never arrived. With the deadline hours away, the Gunners now have to decide between one more push and a change of target.
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Barcelona are the destination he actually wants
Alvarez’s preference has not moved. He wants Barcelona. Atletico want no part of that conversation and have refused outright to negotiate with the Catalans, while showing rather more patience with Arsenal’s interest.
Spanish outlets have not shut the door completely. MARCA writes that the forward “could change his mind in the coming days”, which is thin, but it is something for Arsenal’s board to hold onto if they fancy one final approach.
A standoff that has been running for weeks
None of this is new. The 2022 world champion and his club have been in a public tug of war since the start of August. Atletico set a price, blocked Barcelona and kept insisting they control the situation. Alvarez wants to choose for himself.
He arrived from Manchester City in 2024 and has become the focal point of the attack. Selling him days before the European campaign starts would force Diego Simeone into a rebuild up front that nobody in Madrid wants right now, which is a large part of why the club keeps stalling.
Arsenal’s alternative is not obvious
Arteta wants a striker who can lead the line and drop into midfield when the game demands it. Alvarez fits that description almost perfectly, and there are not many others on the market who do. Whether Arsenal find one before the buzzer is a separate question entirely.
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