Arsenal have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, according to reports in Spain.
The Gunners have held long-term interest in Alvarez, the Argentina international who has played in two World Cup finals.
Arsenal spent £64m to sign Viktor Gyokeres last summer and the Sweden international scored 21 goals in his first season at the Emirates Stadium to help Mikel Arteta’s side win the Premier League and reach the Champions League final.
Bosses at Arsenal are not unhappy with Gyokeres but there is a belief he could be upgraded by someone like Alvarez.
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Alvarez scored 49 goals during his first two seasons at Atletico Madrid, having won back-to-back Premier Leagues during his spell at Manchester City.
Arsenal expressed interest in signing Alvarez at the start of the summer transfer window but Atletico initially rejected the possibility of the Argentine leaving the club.
Atletico reacted angrily to approaches from Barcelona for Alvarez and also rejected a bid from Real Madrid worth almost £130m.
But it was reported last week that Atletico Madrid feel the current situation cannot continue and were therefore finally ready to sell Alvarez, but only to Arsenal and not a La Liga rival.
The key stumbling block for Arsenal was Alvarez’s strong desire to join Barca but Spanish outlet AS say the forward has softened his stance and is no longer ‘completely ruling out’ a move to north London.
While Alvarez would still ideally join Barcelona, he has not ‘closed the door’ on Arsenal and is intrigued by Mikel Arteta’s sporting project.
Alvarez was heavily jeered when he came on as a second-half substitute in Atletico Madrid’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal on Sunday.
At one point the supporters were chanting: ‘Tell him to leave, let him leave forever.’
After the game, Alvarez headed straight down the tunnel to yet more boos as his Atletico teammates performed their customary acknowledgement to the fans, with Diego Simeone later claiming that was the club’s decision.
Discussing his striker’s future before the La Liga fixture, Simeone said: ‘For me, Julian is an extremely important player for us to achieve our objectives. As long as he’s with the team, I’m going to look after him.’
The Gunners, meanwhile, began their Premier League title defence with an emphatic 3-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry City on Friday night.
After that victory, Gary Neville said Arsenal would become strong contenders to not just retain the Premier League but win the Champions League if they sign ‘world-class’ Alvarez.
‘What a squad he [Arteta] has built here and if he adds another forward into that then I don’t see how anyone can stop them,’ Neville told Sky Sports.
‘We think that Alvarez wants to go to Barcelona but if they could get Alvarez somehow Arsenal, I mean that is going to light this place up because you’ve then got a world-class striker to go with all the world-class defenders and midfield players.
‘And they become, not just Premier League title winners, you then think they can go the extra step and win a Champions League as well.
‘It’s massive this next ten days, he [Arteta] needs that little bit of magic up front that when you don’t play well, they’ll go and win a big game for you. Has he got enough of that? I’m not sure.
‘He [Alvarez] is exceptional on the ball, his understanding of the game is fantastic. I’m being respectful here to Havertz and Gyokeres… but if there was an Ian Wright up front for Arsenal who makes those short runs, he [Odegaard] would be even better.
‘I think because Gyokeres always come to the play and so does Havertz, he [Odegaard] is always playing possession in the final third, rather than playing those slip through passes, which I think could be so dangerous.
‘If Arsenal were to sign Alvarez, I actually think he [Odegaard] would go up a level as well himself as it would be perfect for the style of play. I think he’s a fantastic player.
‘I actually thought when [Eberechi] Eze came in he would take Odegaard’s spot but he looks like he’s re-established himself.’
Gyokeres has been linked with a shock move to Barcelona amid Arsenal’s interest in Alvarez and reports claim the Sweden striker would be open to a move to Spain.
Arteta decided to keep Gyokeres on the bench against Coventry but may call upon the 28-year-old when Arsenal return to action against Aston Villa next week.
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