Arsenal must trump Chelsea in bid for £87m star as Ornstein reveals ‘definite scope’ for transfer | OneFootball

Viktor Gyokeres has been filling column inches in the last few weeks, chiefly thanks to his rotten goalscoring form and all-round inertia at Arsenal before his excellent finish off the bench against Inter altered the narrative slightly.

Billed as ‘the final piece of the puzzle’ in the summer as a protracted transfer saga saw the Gunners opt for him over Benjamin Sesko and other alternatives, Mikel Arteta looks to have completed that puzzle in spite of the £64m man this season, leaving us all to question just how many points clear at the top of the Premier League they might have been had Gyokeres hit the ground running, or even jogging, at the Emirates.

Amid questions as to whether Gabriel Jesus, after his brace on Tuesday, or the returning (at some point) Kai Havertz may be better bets than Gyokeres – particularly in the biggest games when effectively operating with ten players may prove to be an issue – you’ve got to wonder if Andrea Berta will be tempted by the open January transfer window as they’re both presumably still seen as limiting options for Arteta, as they were in the summer.

Both contribute far more than Gyokeres. You know they’re playing when they’re playing. They hold the ball up, up play, drop deep and knit moves together, move opposing centre-backs into positions they would rather not be. But they’ve never scored enough goals for Arsenal to be the undisputed No.9.

Doubts as to whether the Gunners actually really needed that Proper Striker that Gyokeres purported to be have been realised through his, but more importantly, Arsenal’s performances. They’re a far better and more fluent team when he’s not on the pitch.

This all leads to the conclusion that what Arsenal could do with is goalscorer who’s also a good footballer. They’re few and far between but one such unicorn is Atletico Madrid’s star man, Julian Alvarez.

Reports this week have claimed that Chelsea are keen on bringing the former Manchester City man back to the Premier League, with one outlet even going so far as to suggest they’ve made a £74m ‘offer’ for his services.

Alvarez is valued by Transfermarkt at €100m [£87m] having joined the Spanish side for £82m in the summer of 2024, and interested parties would likely have to get close to a nine-figure offer to even enter negotiations.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Arsenal are one of those suitors.

He told Sky Sports: “Arsenal were considering Julian Alvarez in the summer; his name came up. You could see that sort of player coming into Arsenal. If there’s going to be outward manoeuvring, then there is definitely scope for an arrival.”

Ethan Nwaneri’s loan move to Marseille offers that “scope”, and although quite such a landmark addition feels very unlikely in January, Alvarez is indeed the right “sort” for Arsenal in that he would immediately improve the first XI, combining excellent finishing with valuable striker qualities besides.

It would also be quite the statement of intent from Arsenal, who have been in strong (though not quite so strong) positions at this stage of the season before and haven’t made what many considered to be necessary improvements in January to their cost.

Arsenal can’t sleep if (and it’s a big if) Chelsea make progress in talks over a move for Alvarez. There’s only one winner in that transfer battle as Arteta’s side look destined to win at least one major trophy this season while the Chelsea owners’ policy perpetually threatens to bear fruit without ever really doing so. It was Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta who signed Alvarez for Atletico.

A combination of Gyokeres, Jesus and Havertz may be enough to see Arsenal to glory, but why take the chance? If Berta and Arteta, like Ornstein, “see” Alvarez at Arsenal, they shouldn’t wait until the summer to make that a reality when there’s still everything to play for.