Julian Alvarez has opened the door to a move, and Arsenal are trying to be first in line. The Atletico Madrid forward has said, “the best thing for everyone is a transfer,” while Andrea Berta has held direct talks with him. Barcelona are still his preferred destination, and Atletico Madrid are publicly resisting the sale.

Alvarez has made the opening himself

Alvarez did not hide much in his interview with teamtalk.com. “I spoke with the people at Atletico I needed to speak with, and the best thing for everyone is a transfer. I want to fulfil my dream,” he said. That is a pretty direct nudge, even if he stopped short of naming where he wants to go.

The reports around the race are not fully aligned. TheHardTackle says Barcelona is his preferred destination, while it also reported Real Madrid made an earlier €150 million bid and did not renew interest. Metro quoted Miguel Angel Gil Marin saying Atletico do not want to transfer him and would not accept €150m or €200m after rejecting €100 million.

Arsenal's case and Atletico's resistance

Arsenal's interest has become more serious because the player has now said enough to keep the door open. Andrea Berta’s direct talks matter here, because they give Arsenal a real route into a deal that still looks messy.

The mess starts with Atletico's stance. Gil Marin said: “We want to continue counting on him. We do not want to transfer him.” Atletico are fourth in La Liga on 69 points, which does not make them a club in a hurry to be pushed around, even if the valuation talk around Alvarez keeps moving. The £427 million buy-out clause only underlines how high Atletico set the bar.

Arsenal also have a sporting reason to keep looking. Viktor Gyökeres scored 54 goals and 13 assists in his final campaign for Sporting, but his Arsenal return has been thinner, with 1 goal and 1 assist in 4 appearances. That is enough for the club to keep chasing a cleaner attacking upgrade.

Alvarez's own profile gives Arsenal a strong argument, too. He has 1 goal and 0 assists in 8 World Cup appearances, with 631 minutes logged and a 6.66 rating. It is not a runaway case built on numbers alone, but it is a solid one for a forward whose output and versatility keep attracting attention.

Arsenal can talk themselves into the fit. Atletico can point to Gil Marin's public line and the fee they are asking for. Barcelona still sit ahead in Alvarez's preference. For now, the key fact is simple enough: the player has said he wants a transfer, and Arsenal have already spoken to him through Andrea Berta.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →