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Mikel Arteta called Julian Alvarez to convince him to move to Arsenal. (Image: Getty)
Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez has finally made a decision on his future and told Mikel Arteta that he does not want to move to Arsenal this summer. The La Liga club would be willing to do business with a starting price of £128million, but Alvarez has insisted he would only be willing to sanction a move to Barcelona.
Atletico do not want to do business with their fellow league rival, releasing several public statements claiming as much, which was thought to have left the door open for Arsenal. But The Athletic reporter David Ornstein, speaking on HBO Max's pre-match coverage of Liverpool's match with Nottingham Forest, insists that a deal taking Alvarez to north London will not happen without a late change of heart from the player.
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“At the time of reporting, there is a low chance that Julian Alvarez comes to Arsenal," Ornstein said. “Atletico Madrid would do a deal with Arsenal. Arsenal are prepared to reach a club-to-club agreement, but they would want the player to want to join them.
“Alvarez has shown no indication of wanting to join at this point. He’s spoken to Mikel Arteta and said that he doesn’t want to come.
“That could change, these situations are always movable, so I don’t want to say it won’t happen, but right now, it’s not developing.”
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Arsenal have been determined to add a superstar attacker to Arteta's frontline, having failed to convince Vinicius Jr to snub a new contract at Real Madrid. They have also witnessed previous target Morgan Rogers join Chelsea, while Bradley Barcola is on the verge of joining Liverpool.
With Gabriel Martinelli set to follow Leandro Trossard out the door, Arsenal have only brought in Christos Tzolis as a replacement on the left flank.
The Gunners have moved to improve other areas of the team, spending £75m on Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle. Ezri Konsa has also joined in a £55m deal from Aston Villa.