Julian Alvarez has been linked with Arsenal throughout the summer, but the situation has developed into an ever-growing transfer saga
Julian Alvarez of Atletico de Madrid sits on the bench prior to the LaLiga EA Sports football match between Atletico de Madrid and Villarreal CF at Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on August 23, 2026
Julian Alvarez's future at Atletico is still uncertain(Image: Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto)
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Atletico Madrid want the Julian Alvarez transfer saga to be resolved within two days. Arsenal have been chasing the Argentinian forward throughout the summer.
Alvarez, 26, missed training through illness a matter of days after he was viciously jeered and booed by his own supporters during and after Atletico's 2-2 draw with Villarreal. The Spanish club have been reluctant to part with him, but are now showing signs they could sell him before the window closes on September 1st.
The ex-Manchester City forward's main target is to move to Barcelona, but with Atletico unwilling to do business with the Catalans, he is also believed to be open to a move to Arsenal. It's also understood Mikel Arteta has been in contact with the striker.
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According to the Independent, Atletico want the saga to be concluded by Friday so in the event they do sell him, they have time to sign some replacements.
Arsenal have been in no rush to try and force through a transfer as they believe Atletico's grasp on the striker will weaken closer to the transfer deadline. It's also been claimed the Gunners may be willing to offer Viktor Gyokeres in exchange, two months after reports of a potential swap deal involving the Swede first emerged.
The Gunners have completed some huge deals this summer, including the £75m acquisition of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United and the £51m signing of Aston Villa ace Ezri Konsa.
Atletico Madrid's Argentine forward #19 Julian Alvarez is pictured amid boos from home supporters during the Spanish league football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Villarreal CF at Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on August 23, 2026. FC Barcelona are still looking for a striker after Atletico Madrid rejected their bid to sign Julian Alvarez
Atletico have imposed a hard deadline on Alvarez(Image: AFP or licensors)
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However, they have been looking for a marquee addition to their front-line. Mikel Arteta's side have already seen transfer pursuits for Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior both fail.
Chelsea beat the Gunners to the signature of Rogers, signing him from Villa for £117m, while the latter eventually opted to sign a new contract at Real Madrid.
When it comes to Alvarez, the club's chances of successfully signing him are looking more promising every day. The sight of him walking away from his team-mates as they were applauding the Atletico fans instantly fuelled more transfer speculation.
Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal on the side line during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Arsenal FC and Coventry City at Emirates Stadium on August 21, 2026 in London, England
Arteta is still looking to add more firepower to his side(Image: 2026 Allstar)
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After the match, Atletico manager Diego Simeone stated Alvarez and the club both decided he should not interact with the fans within the stadium while the saga is ongoing. The Atletico boss said: "It was a club decision to not let Julian Alvarez go over with his teammates to greet the fans."
Before the match, Simeone reaffirmed how much he wants to hold onto Alvarez. He said: "For me, Julian is an extremely important player for us to achieve our objectives. As long as he's with the team, I'm going to look after him."
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