Talks planned: Arsenal to step up Julian Alvarez transfer pursuit, now have crucial edge over Barcelona

Arsenal are reportedly planning to hold transfer talks over Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez this summer, while Barcelona may be blocked from moving for him.

The Argentina international has shone during his time in La Liga and has also previously proven himself in the Premier League with Manchester City.

Despite some slightly underwhelming scoring stats, Alvarez looks to be hot property this summer, with Arsenal and Barcelona both keen on him, according to AS.

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However, the Spanish publication state that Atletico have been angered by the way Barca have approached this deal, so that could hand momentum to Arsenal.

It’s suggested that Atletico will now block Barcelona from pursuing Alvarez, while Arsenal plan to discuss a deal for the 26-year-old.

Julian Alvarez transfer could be risky at £120m

This is not the first we’ve seen of Alvarez being linked with Arsenal, with BBC Sport also mentioning the Gunners’ interest in the former Man City man.

They suggested, however, that Alvarez could cost as much as £120m, which is surely far too much for Arsenal to pay for someone with only eight league goals in the season just gone.

Alvarez did better in the Champions League, but see below for a full breakdown of his stats, which just don’t really scream ‘world class’…

Arsenal could do with making changes up front, but they’ll also have other areas they’re keen to look at, so it would be a big challenge for them to blow the bulk of their budget on one player who wouldn’t necessarily be that much of an upgrade on Viktor Gyokeres.

Perhaps the Argentine could do better in a different tactical set-up, but it would be a big ask for him to transform this rather stale-looking Arsenal attack all by himself.

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Despite AFC just winning the Premier League title, there wasn’t a lot of vintage football from Mikel Arteta’s side in the season just gone, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard not at their best.

That could mean it’s tricky for Alvarez to shine in this team, as well as in a generally more competitive league which has seen a slight shift towards more defensive tactics in the last year or so.