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Arsenal spent much of the summer transfer window chasing a deal for a marquee forward signing, and it never arrived.
Morgan Rogers was the primary target initially, before he instead signed for Chelsea in a deal worth £117m, before a move for Vinicius Jr was explored before he signed a new long-term contract at Real Madrid.
But before both of them, in previous transfer windows and last summer's, the priority was a move for Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez.
The former Man City star joined the Spanish side in a deal worth £81m in August 2024, and has gone on to score 49 goals in 110 appearances for the Madrid giants - including 29 in his first season and 20 last season.
But the Argentina international rocked Diego Simeone's side by pushing for a move away from the club, with Barcelona believed to be his dream destination. The Catalan side tabled a €100m offer for his services, which was rejected out of hand, with Atletico refusing to deal with Alvarez.
Arsenal stayed informed on the situation and were interested right up to Deadline day, only for Alvarez to decide to stay at Atletico if he couldn't get a move to Barcelona.
However, according to TEAMtalk, he has now had a change of heart, and has opened the door to a move to the Emirates Stadium in January, which has sparked excitement in the corridors of north London.
Arsenal are understood to be willing to pay more than £100m to bring him back to the Premier League, with Mikel Arteta believing he is the perfect striker for his system. The clubs have a good relationship, and it's reported that Atleti are interested in a number of Arsenal players, including Viktor Gyokeres and Ethan Nwaneri, which could help, while Noni Madueke is another player who has been mentioned.
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Fees correct prior to summer 2026
Alvarez Could Win Arsenal the Champions League
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Arsenal were Premier League champions last year after a sensational campaign, and only missed out on winning their first-ever Champions League trophy because of a penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the final.
Arteta has been picking Kai Havertz over Gyokeres so far this season because of his technical quality and his ability to link with his teammates, and it has produced results. The Gunners have won six of their seven games in all competitions, and looked threatening.
But bringing in Alvarez would see Arteta able to merge the technical qualities of Havertz with the goalscoring instinct of Gyokeres in one player, and it would be the missing piece to the jigsaw which could take the team to the next level, which would give them a huge boost in winning the Champions League.
Spain legend Fernando Torres made his feelings on the Argentine clear last season, having watched him in action for many years.
He's used to winning trophies, having won the tournament with Man City, and also won the World Cup and Copa America with Argentina, and Arsenal would benefit greatly from getting a deal done.