Arsenal have less than 48 hours to complete their transfer business and are still hoping to land Julian Alvarez in a £128million deal from Atletico Madrid. The Gunners have brought in five players already and are set to confirm the exits of Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira too.
Alvarez returns to training amid speculation
Alvarez returned to Atletico Madrid training on Sunday despite continuing speculation regarding his future. The Argentine, who has been amongst Arsenal's primary targets in recent months, was absent from three squad training sessions last week due to what the club described as an "indisposition", before training individually on Friday.
He was also left out of Diego Simeone's squad for Saturday's 3-1 victory at Sevilla. Whether his reintroduction to the squad signals that the 26-year-old has decided to remain in the Spanish capital beyond the transfer deadline remains to be seen.
Alvarez's preference and Atletico's stance
Alvarez had made his intentions abundantly clear early on, expressing a strong desire to join Barcelona this summer. However, after Atletico blocked his proposed switch to their La Liga rivals, Arsenal emerged as the most probable destination, with Atleti willing to sanction a £128m departure for their discontented star man.
Reports suggested he had been given until Sunday to decide between joining Arsenal or remaining at the club, though more recent claims indicated Alvarez had no desire to return to England.
Gabriel Jesus set for Barcelona move
Gabriel Jesus is reportedly on the verge of completing a dream transfer to Barcelona. The Brazilian, 29, has been heavily linked with a departure throughout the summer window, having been deemed expendable by Arteta.
The Gunners have accepted an £8.57m offer from the La Liga champions for Jesus' services. Performance-related add-ons are also incorporated into the deal. Jesus is due to undergo a medical on Monday ahead of completing his switch to Camp Nou. The former Manchester City star had been training separately from Arteta's first-team squad after being made available for transfer, and had initially been expected to head to Napoli.
