"Started discussing..." - Arsenal given possible positive Julian Alvarez transfer update from Fabrizio Romano | OneFootball

There are perhaps some signs that Arsenal still have hope of signing Julian Alvarez in a hugely ambitious transfer deal this summer.

The latest from Fabrizio Romano is that Barcelona, who have made Alvarez a dream target, have started looking for alternatives up front, which could point towards them giving up on landing the Argentina international.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “Barcelona have started internally at the moment, so president, director, coach, people at the club, started discussing alternative options if they can sign Julian Alvarez. So, Barcelona have started considering alternatives.”

This follows a few other reports also giving Arsenal some hope of still being in the race for Alvarez.

What’s being said about Arsenal and Julian Alvarez

Ben Jacobs has been quoted as saying not to rule out Arsenal yet, while Romano himself has also previously said that the Gunners will be one to watch in this story.

There is perhaps a more detailed explanation below, with Sky Sports’ Dharmesh Sheth explaining that Arsenal have been waiting in the background in case Barca can’t get the deal done…

Our understanding, meanwhile, is that Arsenal are keen on Alvarez and could be in a good position due to Atletico not being keen to sell to their La Liga rivals.

The challenge for now, however, is convincing the former Manchester City forward to come to the Emirates Stadium when his preferred choice remains Barcelona.

It will be interesting to see if the situation changes, and if Alvarez perhaps pushes to leave Atletico, whether it’s for another Spanish club or a Premier League club.

That could perhaps convince his current employers to accept a reasonable offer and take it as a positive that he hasn’t gone and strengthened one of their rivals.

Do Arsenal need Julian Alvarez?

Barcelona could certainly do with Alvarez as a replacement for the departing Robert Lewandowski, but do Arsenal really need to be splashing the cash on a striker again this summer?

The reigning Premier League champions brought in Viktor Gyokeres this time last year, and he helped fire the club to the title in his first season.

As the stats above show, Gyokeres actually scored more goals in all competitions than Alvarez last season, though he did also play slightly more games.

Overall, though, considering how expensive Alvarez would be, it doesn’t look like he’d be enough of an upgrade, so perhaps AFC would be better off focusing on strengthening other areas, such as attacking midfield, to improve the quality of service to Gyokeres.