Arsenal have not given up hope of signing Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid but Barcelona are also adamant that they will not stop trying to sign the wantaway striker
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.
Barcelona are not giving up on Julian Alvarez(Image: Getty )
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Barcelona insist they are still in the market for Julian Alvarez - and that is another blow for Arsenal’s chances of landing him.
Atletico Madrid insist there is “zero chance” of selling to their La Liga rivals which has opened the door for Arsenal with Mikel Arteta a huge fan of the Argentina striker.
But Barcelona are not giving up and reports from Spain on Wednesday said Alvarez missed training because he felt unwell which only plays into the growing stand-off.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said: “The truth is that we are very interested in the player and we would like our offer to be accepted.
“We say this with all respect to Atletico Madrid and we want them to know that, if they are open to selling in this summer transfer window, we would be willing to buy the player in accordance with the offer we have submitted to them.”
However, Arsenal are running out of time to get a deal done on Alvarez and they are close to sealing a deal for Gabriel Martinelli to Al Hilal for £50m-plus which includes a 15 per cent sell-on fee.
They also want to offload Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira and the reality is even if they finish their outgoings they may end up not getting anyone in as they believe the squad is strong enough whether Alvarez gets done or not.
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