Arsenal made an offer worth £104 million to sign Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez during the Club World Cup last summer, according to Spanish publication El Desmarque.
The Gunners are poised to strengthen their attacking options ahead of next season. The likes of Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli could be shown the exit door.
Atletico’s Alvarez has been highlighted as a target for Arsenal. El Desmarque now claim that Atletico snubbed a £104m bid from the Gunners for the striker during last year’s Club World Cup.
Mikel Arteta’s side have yet to return with a fresh offer for the Argentine this summer.
Arsenal likely to miss out on Alvarez’s signature to Barcelona
The 26-year-old, described as ‘world-class‘ by FIFA.com, had a brilliant debut campaign with Atletico in 2024/25, scoring 29 goals and providing eight assists under manager Diego Simeone.
He had a slight dip in form during the 2025/26 season, but still made 29 goal contributions. Alvarez has now revealed his desire to leave Atletico, but it appears he could be Barcelona-bound.
The World Cup winner has the Blaugrana as his ‘clear priority‘. The Catalan giants have shown they have the funds this summer by agreeing to sign Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon for £70m.
Negotiations are underway between Barcelona and Atletico, we won’t be surprised if a formal agreement is reached between the La Liga giants for Alvarez before he reports for the World Cup.
Barring a surprise breakdown in talks between the Spanish clubs, Arsenal look poised to miss out on Alvarez. The club will need to look at alternative solutions to strengthen the attack.
A marquee left winger should be the utmost priority over a centre-forward this summer. We personally believe the club should make a big outlay to land Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com