Arsenal see initial £105m offer REJECTED as Gunners prepare to raise bid for dream summer target | OneFootball

Arsenal are reported to have seen an opening offer worth a staggering €120m knocked back by Atletico Madrid for Julian Alvarez – and with the Gunners ready to raise their offer for their No.1 summer target to never-before-seen levels, a source has explained to TEAMtalk why they still have huge belief they can seal a deal.

Mikel Arteta’s side have seen their gap at the top of the Premier League cut to five points in recent weeks, with Manchester City finding their form at a crucial stage of the season. And with Pep Guardiola’s side playing a day before Arsenal next take the field, that gap could be reduced to just two points should City claim all three points from Saturday evening’s trip to face Leeds at Elland Road.

Heavy summer investment appears to have propelled Arsenal into becoming serious challengers for four major trophies this season and, and while Arteta can marvel at the quality of players at his disposal, the club are already planning the next phase of their squad strengthening.

To that end, TEAMtalk was the first with the news back on January 22 that Arsenal had already held talks with the agents of Alvarez over a potential summer transfer, with our transfer correspondent, Graeme Bailey, describing their interest as serious.

Now, according to AS journalist Guille Casquero, the Gunners have now seen an initial club equalling €120m (£105m, $141.5m) package rejected by Atletico Madrid as they step up their quest to beat a series of rivals to the Argentina striker’s signature.

Per Casquero, Arsenal had offered a downpayment of €100m (£87.5m, $118m) for Alvarez with a further €20m in add-ons to try and tempt Atletico into the sale and secure an agreement ahead of the summer window officially opening for business.

However, TEAMtalk understands that, while the Gunners remain very much keen to sign the 26-year-old this summer, the player could well be holding out for another move and with three other sides firmly in the mix for his signature…

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Arsenal one of four clubs keen on Alvarez as source drops move hint

Indeed, we already confirmed that Chelsea and Barcelona are also keen on a deal for the former Manchester City man, who has scored an impressive 42 goals and added 14 assists from 93 appearances for Rojoblancos – a G/A every 1.66 appearances.

And according to Casquero, we can now add the name of PSG to the mix.

Explaining the situation in more detail, the journalist revealed to AS: “I know Barcelona want him, Arsenal want him and PSG want him. Those three want him firmly.

“I know that Atletico Madrid know that Barcelona, Arsenal and PSG, in that order in my opinion, are very, very attentive to Julian.”

However, while TEAMtalk can reveal Arsenal are getting weekly updates on the player’s situation, Casquero believes it will take an enormous offer to tempt the player to leave the Wanda Metropolitano.

“Knowing Julian and knowing his family, Madrid suits him very well. He loves living in Madrid and I think he wants things to go very well for him at Atletico Madrid.”

He added: “He does not want to leave without being a recognised champion at Atletico. That has happened at every club he has been at and he does not want to break that streak. I am sure he wants to succeed at Atletico before going anywhere else.”

Despite that, a high-ranking intermediary involved in the operation, speaking to us on condition of anonymity, explained: “We all know Barca is Julian’s priority, but not to the point where he is saying a total no to everyone else.

“As it stands, if he does not stay in Spain, he is likely heading to London. It is widely known that Arsenal and Chelsea love him; he is an elite player and an elite player with Premier League experience.”

Latest Arsenal news: Super-star to land new deal; pacy right-back eyed

Meanwhile, sources can confirm that the Gunners are preparing to open talks with another of their most important players about a new long-term contract before the start of next season, with sporting director Andrea Berta to play a key role in those negotiations and with confidence growing that a new deal will quickly be ironed out.

In another exclusive update over the weekend, we also revealed that Arsenal are plotting a summer move for one of the fastest right-backs in Europe, though they face competition from Manchester City and Newcastle.

The Gunners are considering the 21-year-old amid uncertainty surrounding Ben White, whose future at the Emirates is ‘far from certain.’