Mikel Arteta takes Julian Alvarez deal into his own hands as Arsenal transfer strategy unveiled | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta is seemingly taking Arsenal’s pursuit of Julian Alvarez into his own hands, while outlining what may come in the remaining weeks of the transfer window.

Arsenal rounded off their pre-season campaign with a commanding 3-0 win over Manchester City to win the 2026 Community Shield on Sunday.

First-half goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Kai Havertz put the Gunners in control at Principality Stadium, before man of the match Martin Odegaard rounded off the scoring shortly after half-time.

Following the victory, the Spaniard told TNT Sports, “A really good performance. To show the desire we showed and the reaction, I was really impressed. I told them I really enjoyed watching them play.

“[I was] A bit surprised [by the result]. We had the pre-season, and we had eight to nine players to get tested. To play in the manner we did is extremely impressive.”

Two men that were missing from the Arsenal squad were Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, both of whom have been linked with moves to Italy and Turkey.

With Arsenal open to signing a new striker, in addition to recruiting winger Christos Tzolis, the Brazilians could be surplus to requirements this season.

But Arteta insisted he has been “fighting” the Premier League to increase the size of the matchday squad.

He added, “Really sad to not have their availability. I have been fighting with the Premier League to extend them and to accommodate more players in the squad. They deserve to be in the squad. Hopefully we can change that rule.”

Arteta calls Alvarez over Arsenal deal again

After the Man City win, Arteta also said that they want to strengthen parts of the squad that have been hit hardest by injury, at a time when Jurrien Timber and William Saliba are currently sidelined.

He admitted, “We know there are certain areas that through injuries we are weaker and we need to strengthen. We’re trying to do that and we’ve been trying to do that for weeks. Only when the opportunity is right for the club will we do it.”

Elsewhere, ESPN Argentina, via Transfer News Live, Arteta called Alvarez again in the last 48 hours in an attempt to get him to join Arsenal.

However, the 26-year-old, who expressed his desire to leave Atletico back in late June, has reiterated that his priority is to join Barcelona over anyone else.

This comes after the Argentina international said he wanted to “fulfil his dream” and the best thing for all parties was for a transfer to take place.

He is now back with Diego Simeone’s team and it remains to be seen if he will move to Barcelona or stay put.