Arsenal push to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico despite £100m price-tag standoff

Arsenal are pushing to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid before the start of pre-season, with The Independent reporting that the Premier League champions view the Argentina international as their primary attacking target this summer.

The Gunners ended a 22-year wait for the title last season but have identified the striker position as the one area of their squad still lacking a settled first-choice option. Viktor Gyokeres, signed from Sporting Lisbon last summer, struggled in his debut campaign and was dropped for the Champions League final against PSG in favour of Kai Havertz — himself a player who spent much of the season injured and is not considered a natural centre-forward. Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal hierarchy are now looking to address that gap ahead of the new campaign.

According to the report by Miguel Delaney, Alvarez has long been Arteta’s preferred solution, though the difficulty of the deal led Arsenal to explore alternatives including PSG winger Bradley Barcola. Interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid — the latter of whom had a €150 million bid rejected before the 2022 World Cup — appears to have cooled, and Arsenal now believe a deal could be achievable.

The central obstacle is the fee. Arsenal have previously indicated they are unwilling to go above £90 million, while Atletico Madrid are reluctant to sell at all and would demand north of £100 million if they did. Whether either side is prepared to move significantly remains unclear.

Alvarez, currently on international duty with Argentina at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, scored a decisive goal against Switzerland in the quarter-finals to send La Albiceleste into the last four. He is set to face England in the semi-final on Wednesday, 15 July. Transfermarkt currently values the 25-year-old at €100 million.

The same report suggests Arsenal also believe they can secure a deal for Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers, hinting at a potentially significant summer of reinforcement as the club look to defend their title.