Last year, Arsenal had two strikers in mind as they looked towards finally signing the centre-forward that Mikel Arteta had craved.
Before Andrea Berta came in, a lot of work had been conducted on the conditions of a deal for Benjamin Sesko who was at RB Leipzig at the time.
However, once the Italian arrived, he quickly pivoted to Viktor Gyokeres. Not only were the finances better but he felt like more of a win-now signing which is what the Gunners were after.
Viktor-Gyokeres-Arsenal-premier-league-trophy
The jury is still out on the big Swede but he did score 21 goals in all competitions as Arsenal won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final. The move, therefore, has not been a total disaster.
Still, Arteta doesn't appear to be fully convinced. Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez is on their radar.
Why Arsenal want to sign Julian Alvarez
Arsenal want Alvarez, that is no secret. However, actually extracting him from Atleti looks like a nigh on impossible task.
The Argentine wants to leave and would like to realise his dream of moving to Barcelona. Yet, the Catalan club have not been forthcoming with an offer. Their fierce rivals, Real Madrid, also saw a £130m bid quite literally laughed off a few weeks ago.
julian-alvarez-atletico-madrid
It could open the door for the Gunners to make their move. Claims last week revealed that if Alvarez's move to Barca does not materialise, he is very open to heading to the Emirates Stadium instead.
So, why do Arsenal want him? Well, in Gyokeres and Kai Havertz, there is a sense that Arteta is missing something. They are both great in their own right but they lack a few fundamentals.
While Gyokeres is brilliant in front of goal and at running the channels, he does not exactly excel in the build-up phases of play. He consistently loses the ball and is unable to bring his teammates into play. Havertz is the opposite. While not as prolific, he enjoys playing with his back to goal. Compared to Arsenal's number 14, he does thrive in the build-up.
Alvarez, however, would knit that all together. He's got the prolific nature of Gyokeres but also the link-up play of Havertz. In short, he would be Arteta's perfect striker.
Havertz vs Alvarez: Goals per season
Season
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
2025/26
Last season he scored 20 goals, adding to the 29 he bagged during his debut term in Spain. That followed a campaign in which the World Cup winner scored 19 and assisted 13 in Man City colours. That additional experience of English football makes him an even more appealing proposition this summer.
However, might Arsenal already have their own Alvarez? Here's a clue; it's not Gyokeres or Havertz.
Arsenal star looks like their own Julian Alvarez
One of the biggest plus points to Alvarez's game, certainly in comparison to Gyokeres anyway, is his versatile nature. He's extremely malleable.
The Argentina star is a striker by trade but he can also play as something of a false 9 or more of a second striker, acting as a creative axis for the wingers to bounce off.
atletico-madrid-alvarez
Well, in the shape of Gabriel Martinelli, they could discover a similar player. Now, we know what you are thinking but hear us out, the Brazilian could perform a similar role to Alvarez.
He has shown as much during the World Cup in North America. While the winger is yet to start a game and has only appeared for 74 minutes during Brazil's campaign, he has impressed, notably against Japan on Monday evening.
During that game, Martinelli came up with one of the most memorable moments of the tournament so far, scoring a 96th minute winner, ghosting into the penalty area and then firing past Zion Suzuki in the Japan net.
The significance of the 25-year-old's performance from an Arsenal perspective, however, was not that goal. It was the position he played in.
Out of possession, Martinelli came into the game as a midfielder. Yes, you read that right. The Arsenal winger was played as a left sided 8. In possession, however, he moved closer to the goal and almost played as a 9.
Martinelli-Brazil-World-Cup
What this did was move him closer to goal where he is at his best. While some will bemoan the players' ability to take on a man, if you get him in a central area he can begin to impact the game a lot more.
Martinelli a really sharpshooter and deadly inside the area. We saw that with how well he took his goal. It was a tactical masterstroke from Carlo Ancelotti.
This was not the first time we have seen Martinelli operate in a central zone though. His only Premier League goal last season came when he was up top, running in behind onto Eberechi Eze's pass before lobbing Gianluigi Donnarumma in the Manchester City net.
Furthermore, when he first moved to the Emirates, he operated regularly as a centre-forward, actually scoring seven goals in nine games as striker during his debut season in English football.
gabriel-martinelli-arsenal
As a result, what Arteta could unlock here upon the Brazilian's return to London is their very own version of Alvarez, a player comfortable of playing as a 9 in possession but as more of a second striker/number 8 out of possession.
In recent times, the forward has been linked with a move away to the tune of £50m. Based on his form last term, Arsenal should lap that up but perhaps there is a use for him long-term after all.
Arsenal-Bruno-Guimaraes Related
He's a lot like Bruno Guimaraes: Arsenal hold talks to sign £85m star
Arsenal could sign an £85m alternative to Bruno Guimaraes this summer.