Jamie Redknapp makes Premier League title prediction after £130m Arsenal transfer blow

Jamie Redknapp has revealed his Premier League title prediction after Arsenal failed to sign £130m transfer target Julian Alvarez over the summer.

Arsenal were pushing to sign Argentine striker Alvarez right up until the summer transfer window closed on Tuesday.

Mikel Arteta even reportedly contacted Alvarez on multiple occasions to try to convince him to join the Premier League champions, but the Atletico Madrid star had his heart set on a move to Barcelona.

Barca were equally attracted to the transfer but Atletico refused to sell Alvarez, who they value at 150m euros (£130m), to a direct La Liga rival.

That meant Alvarez remained in Madrid at the end of the transfer window and Arsenal missed out on another key target after their failed bid to sign Brazil icon Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid.

The Gunners did bolster Arteta’s squad with several impressive signings, however, with Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa and Christos Tzolis also moving to north London.

Redknapp says Alvarez would have been a clear ‘upgrade’ on Arteta’s current attacking options but does not expect the transfer setback to stop Arsenal from winning the Premier League.

Arsenal, who won their first league title since 2004 last season, have made a bright start to their title defence, beating Coventry City on the opening weekend and Aston Villa on Monday night.

Arteta’s side face an early test of their title credentials this weekend when Xabi Alonso takes his exciting Chelsea side to the Emirates Stadium.

Asked whether Arsenal’s dream of signing Alvarez has died, Redknapp said on Sky Sports: ‘It seems to have.

‘It would have been a great signing, he is an upgrade on the strikers they’ve already got. He’s an elite player. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.

‘They obviously had their hearts set on Vini Junior as well, that didn’t happen either. They might just have to wait. You might have to wait until January if you want Alvarez and just be patient with the squad you’ve got.

‘There’s still a lot to be positive about. [Christos] Tzolis looks a really good player on the left-hand side, [Bruno] Guimaraes is going to be a really good signing, we saw that [against Aston Villa] albeit for 20 minutes. Some of his passing was top class.

‘They’ve got enough and they will win the title again with the squad they’ve already got.

‘It does leave you a little bit short on that left-hand side, obviously [Noni] Madueke could go out and play over there, but that doesn’t seem to be a natural fit for him.

‘They will be a little bit short, I think they can be rest assured they’ve already got a really strong squad.

‘Defensively they look stronger now, obviously with [William] Saliba being out they’ve had to get defensive reinforcements in.

‘When you get players you always want them to add something a bit different to what they already have, and I think that’s what Bruno Guimaraes has.

‘I think he’s going to show throughout the duration of this season that he’s a wonderful signing for them.

‘They’ve got Myles Lewis-Skelly who can play in there, who’s a really talented player. They’ve got so much strength, he’s going to be able to mix it up, they’re going to be attacking on every single front this year.

‘Bukayo Saka’s started the season really well. So there’s so many positives with the players they’ve already got in the building.

‘Sometimes you look at the players you’re trying to bring in and forget about how the current ones are performing.’

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 11 games against Chelsea, a run that stretches back to August 2021, when now England boss Thomas Tuchel was in charge of the Blues.

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