Arsenal incredibly battle Chelsea for ‘perfect’ Man City ace who’ll cost £77m

Arsenal have joined Chelsea and Atletico Madrid in the race to sign Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez, according to reports.

Alvarez has proven to be a great signing for Man City since joining the club for £14million in July 2022. The centre-forward has managed 36 goals and 18 assists in 103 games for City, helping Pep Guardiola’s side win trophies such as the Premier League (x2), Champions League and FA Cup, among others.

Last season, Alvarez registered 19 goals and 13 assists in 54 games. That is a very good record, though the Argentina star is frustrated that he will not become City’s main No 9 while Erling Haaland is at the Etihad.

Plus, City journalist Sam Lee revealed on Thursday that the player and his family are hoping to move to a warmer country in the near future.

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Atletico Madrid are the side who have been most heavily linked with Alvarez in recent months. Their manager, Diego Simeone, views him as a fantastic potential addition to the Atleti forward line.

And the Spanish giants are in desperate need of a new striker after losing Spain captain Alvaro Morata to AC Milan recently.

According to the latest from the Spanish press, Atleti will face competition from the Premier League to snare Alvarez. Chelsea continue to keep tabs on the 24-year-old after being linked with him before, while Arsenal have now burst into the chase, too.

Mikel Arteta sees Alvarez as the ‘perfect’ striker for Arsenal as he can score at least 20 goals per season, link up play brilliantly and also possesses bags of experience at the top level. Alvarez may still be young but he has won major honours such as the Premier League, Champions League, World Cup and Copa America.

Arsenal transfers: Arteta eyes Julian Alvarez

Arteta thinks signing Alvarez would help wingers such as Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli become even more lethal, while also ensuring that Arsenal can finally get the better of City in the Premier League title race.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Atleti have found out how much they will need to offer to sign Alvarez, too. Lee reports that City want an initial fee of £60m for the former River Plate star, plus £17m in further add-ons.

A transfer at this price would see City make a huge profit of £63m, though it is understandable that Guardiola’s side are demanding this as Alvarez is on his way to becoming one of the best strikers in the world.

Of course, Arsenal and Chelsea will need to put on huge charm offensives to convince Alvarez to reject Atleti, as the player will be enticed by the opportunity to head to a hotter country such as Spain.

Arsenal have previously been tipped to move for several other strikers, including Joshua Zirkzee and Ivan Toney. But Zirkzee has ended up joining Manchester United, while Tottenham Hotspur are in a better position to snare Toney.

Arsenal are now weighing up whether to swoop for Alvarez or Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyokeres. On Wednesday, it emerged that Arsenal have reignited their interest in Gyokeres as he has now returned from a knee injury.

Reports claim Arsenal will start the bidding for the goal machine at £55-60m after learning that Sporting could be convinced to sell for £60m. The Portuguese giants demanded upwards of £80m for Gyokeres in the past, though that price tag has since fallen to a more reasonable sum.

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