Former England international Jay Bothroyd has said Arsenal made a mistake by not signing Julian Alvarez and has urged the Gunners to return for the Argentine in January.
The former Arsenal academy player, who went on to represent Coventry, Blackburn, Charlton and QPR, believes the signing of Viktor Gyokeres has not worked out. He said the reigning champions should look to strengthen up front if they want to retain their title, with the Argentine World Cup winner said to be top of their list.
Arsenal were said to hold an interest in bringing Alvarez over from Atletico Madrid in the latter stages of the summer transfer window, but no move materialised.
Bothroyd on why Alvarez fits
Bothroyd told Football Uncensored: “I think Alvarez fits exactly what Arsenal need, which is a player who can come in between the lines. He can get turned, he can manufacture his own goals, he can play out in wide areas and obviously he can play on the shoulder.
“We’ve seen that (he wants to leave) already.
“The only thing is that Atletico Madrid said that they’re not going to be selling him to Barcelona.”
Gyokeres struggles continue
Gyokeres was brought in as a marquee signing in the summer of 2025 after scoring almost a goal a game for Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. However, since his £64million switch, he has found life much tougher in England.
While he scored 21 goals in all competitions in his debut season, the Swede was left on the bench for the Champions League final and has again been behind Kai Havertz in the pecking order so far this term.
He is yet to start a Premier League game in 2026/27 and other clubs have begun queuing up to sign the Swedish striker, anticipating a possible departure from the Emirates Stadium.
Preferred alternatives
Bothroyd believes Arsenal should have targeted other players last summer.
“I wanted to get Alexander Isak from Newcastle,” he added. “I think that was the perfect signing.
“Then Hugo Ekitike, that was a perfect signing.”
Both men ended up at Liverpool with Arsenal settling for Gyokeres, who hasn’t impressed Bothroyd.
“He’s come to the Premier League and, physically, everyone can compete with him,” he continued.
“I keep hearing, ‘oh, he’s playing in between the defenders, he’s occupying people’ (but) Arsenal are too big just to have a player and say ‘you’re occupying the centre-backs’.”
