Arsenal commence €100m-plus striker signing in Andrea Berta masterclass

Arsenal are ready to sign yet another big-money striker in their long-standing quest to finally land a frontman capable of delivering the Premier League title.

The Gunners splashed out around £175m on Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres in recent years. Jesus and Havertz weren’t disastrous signings by any means, but Arsenal wouldn’t have felt the need to sign Gyokeres if they truly believed in the pair.

Gyokeres, meanwhile, has floundered in England. He’s statistically one of the worst strikers in the entire league and if The Gunners do end their 20-plus year wait for a Premier League title this season, it’ll be in spite of Gyokeres, not because of him.

As such, and to ensure Arsenal can dominate for years to come, numerous reports have brought news of Arsenal looking to go big once again for another new No 9.

Our insider, Graeme Bailey, revealed on January 22 that Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez is not a happy man in the Spanish capital.

The Argentine will consider leaving Atleti in the summer and his preferred destination is Barcelona to replace Robert Lewandowski.

However, there remain serious doubts over the financial viability of the move for Barca. As such, Chelsea and Arsenal are looking into bringing the former Manchester City ace back to England, as we exclusively reported.

A subsequent update from ESPN stated Arsenal are actively exploring a move and if they’re given encouragement from Alvarez, they’ll table a colossal bid in the summer.

Atletico Madrid paid €95m when signing Alvarez in 2024 and per the report, they hope to make a profit if cashing in. It’s claimed Atleti will demand upwards of €100m before giving final approval to a sale.

Aiding Arsenal’s chances to a significant degree is the presence of sporting director, Andrea Berta.

He is the man who engineered Alvarez’s move to Atleti while working for Diego Simeone’s side prior to succeeding Edu at Arsenal.

What’s more, ESPN noted Berta possesses a very strong relationship with Alvarez’s agent, Fernando Hidalgo, as well as with Alvarez’s camp.

The work Arsenal are currently putting in with Alvarez won’t result in a bid in the remaining days of the January window.

Instead, the purpose of these early efforts is to set the table for a blockbuster move in the summer.

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‘Game over’ for Arsenal’s rivals if Alvarez signs

One prominent figure within the game who reckons Alvarez would make a huge difference for Arsenal is Gary Lineker.

“I saw they were linked with Julian Alvarez, who I know is not entirely happy with life at Atletico,” said the pundit on the Rest is Football podcast.

“Now that is the sort of player you know can handle the big occasion – he’s a World Cup winner for crying out loud. Someone like that at Arsenal would be game over.

“But they do need one or two of these current forwards to start scoring on a reasonably regular basis.”

READ MORE: All the done deals by Premier League clubs in the January 2026 transfer window