Arsenal have pushed their chips into the middle of the table. Now they are waiting on a player who does not seem to be looking their way.
With Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Fábio Vieira all heading for the exit in deals worth more than £70m, Arsenal have cleared the decks for a marquee forward. The name at the top of Mikel Arteta’s list is clear: Julián Álvarez. The problem is that Álvarez’s heart is already in Catalonia.
Álvarez unmoved as Arsenal circle
Álvarez returned to Atlético Madrid training on Sunday, back in with the group after being left out of the squad for the win over Sevilla. His club insist they will not sell to Barcelona. The player, though, is understood to want only Barcelona and has made that stance plain.
Arteta spoke directly to Álvarez last week, making the case for a Premier League return and a central role in a remodelled Arsenal attack. The answer, for now, has not changed. The Argentina international is holding out for Barcelona.
That leaves Arsenal in a race against the clock. They have money, a clear pathway into the starting XI and a manager who wants him as the focal point of a new front line. What they do not have is the player’s conviction.
Barcelona reshape their attack – and still eye Álvarez
Barcelona have already taken one forward off Arsenal’s hands. An £8.6m agreement is in place for Jesus, who is into the final year of his contract and has slipped behind Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres in the pecking order at the Emirates.
Jesus’s move fits a broader reset at the Spanish champions. Ferran Torres has been sold to Paris Saint‑Germain, creating another vacancy in attack. Barcelona want a second forward and, despite Atlético’s stance, are said not to have abandoned the idea of prising Álvarez away.
That tension defines the window. Atlético, adamant they will not strengthen a direct La Liga rival. Barcelona, searching for another attacker. Álvarez, waiting. Arsenal, watching it all from the outside, hoping the stand-off breaks in their favour.
Atlético plan for the future but dig in on Álvarez
Atlético have not stood still. A deal is in place with Juventus for Jonathan David, initially on loan with an option to buy next summer. It is the sort of move that usually signals a changing of the guard up front.
Yet the message from Madrid is different. They are understood to be determined to keep Álvarez, who only joined from Manchester City in 2024. For them, David is reinforcement, not replacement.
That leaves Arsenal trying to thread an almost impossible needle: convincing a player who wants Barcelona to move to London, and persuading a club that does not want to sell to do business at all.
Arsenal’s Plan B takes shape
Inside the Emirates, there is still some hope that the 26‑year‑old could change his mind. But hope alone does not fill squad lists, and Arsenal have already started to scan the market for alternatives.
Iliman Ndiaye of Everton featured on their shortlist, a versatile forward with the work-rate and movement to fit Arteta’s system. Tottenham have moved quicker. They are in advanced talks over a £60m deal for the Senegal international, pushing Arsenal towards other options.
Morgan Rogers slipped through their fingers to Chelsea. An ambitious move for Vinícius Júnior never got off the ground, the Brazilian instead signing a contract extension at Real Madrid. Each missed target tightens the focus on Álvarez and underlines how narrow the elite forward market has become.
Wide reshuffle: Martinelli out, Tzolis in
While the centre-forward chase dominates the headlines, Arsenal’s flanks are being quietly rebuilt.
Christos Tzolis has arrived to take over from Leandro Trossard on the left. He will not be alone there for long. Martinelli’s expected move to Al‑Hilal, for a club‑record £56m sale, will open another slot in the wide areas, even with Eberechi Eze capable of operating from that side.
Martinelli’s departure is significant on several levels. He scored six times in the Champions League last season, yet only once in the Premier League, a return that hinted at a player slightly out of sync with the domestic campaign. Left out of the squad for the opening‑weekend win over Coventry, he is due to have his medical on Monday before sealing the move.
His fee will surpass the £40m Liverpool paid Arsenal for Alex Oxlade‑Chamberlain in 2017, underlining both how far the market has moved and how decisive Arsenal have been in reshaping their attack.
Vieira set for permanent exit
On the fringes of the squad, another chapter is closing. Fábio Vieira, who spent last season on loan at Hamburg, is poised to join the German club permanently for £8.6m.
It is a quieter deal than the headline exits but part of the same story: Arsenal trimming, cashing in, and creating financial and tactical room for a new attacking core.
A window defined by one decision
So Arsenal wait. They have sold, they have planned, they have spoken directly to their top target. Barcelona hover, Atlético dig in, and Álvarez stands at the centre of it all.
If he bends, Arsenal’s attacking rebuild gains its centrepiece. If he does not, the club that has already committed to tearing up its forward line will be forced into a late, high‑stakes rethink in a market short on answers.
