Arsenal are reportedly willing to offer Viktor Gyokeres to Atletico Madrid as part of a player-plus-cash deal to sign Julian Alvarez. Mikel Arteta's side recently announced the £34million arrival of Christian Tzolis from Club Brugge, having already brought in Illan Meslier as a free agent from Leeds United, while also making Piero Hincapie's loan move from Bayer Leverkusen a £34m permanent transfer.
Alvarez back on Arsenal's radar
Alvarez has been a transfer target for the reigning Premier League champions all summer. Arsenal had the rug pulled from under them in their pursuit for Morgan Rogers, who was signed for £117m by Chelsea, while the Gunners were negotiating with Aston Villa. With the England international out of the picture, Alvarez appears to be back at the top of Arteta's transfer list. It's been claimed Arsenal are so interested in the Argentina international, they may offer up Gyokeres as part of any transfer deal.
Gyokeres' mixed debut season
As per the Times, Arsenal are keen to present the Swedish player to Diego Simeone's team as part of a player-plus-cash deal for the Argentinian World Cup victor. Last summer, Gyokeres made the switch to the Gunners from Sporting and experienced a varied debut season. He contributed 21 goals and three assists in 55 outings across all competitions, a commendable performance, but not one that sparked the same enthusiasm as the 54 goals and 13 assists he netted during his final campaign with Sporting. That campaign convinced the Gunners to splash out approximately £64m on the Swedish international, who netted one goal and provided two more at the World Cup.
Arteta's ambition
Following the Champions League final defeat, Arteta made it evident his team must recruit more world-class talent if they are to continue claiming major silverware. He said: "We'll [have to] start to make some very important decisions if we want to reach another level. We're going to have to show that ambition. We are more than capable of doing it, but it's going to demand being very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart."
Challenging transfer window
Thus far, the transfer window has proved challenging for Arteta's outfit. They were caught off-guard by Chelsea abruptly submitting a £117m offer to secure Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers following several weeks of talks with the Midlands club. Bradley Barcola of Paris Saint-Germain is also believed to feature on Arteta's wishlist. Additionally, Arteta may seek fresh defensive reinforcements with William Saliba scheduled to have back surgery this summer. A potential swoop for free agent and England World Cup star John Stones has been discussed, while Ezri Konsa from Villa has similarly been earmarked as a possible acquisition. Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United also sits atop their priorities, especially with Declan Rice battling his neural hamstring problem at the World Cup.
Arsenal's Premier League title defence commences on August 21st, when they welcome newly promoted Coventry City.
