Julian Alvarez has reportedly refused to take Mikel Arteta's phone call as the Arsenal manager attempts to persuade him to join the Premier League champions. The Atletico Madrid forward remains steadfast in his desire to move to Barcelona, according to Spanish outlet El Chiringuito.
Arsenal's pursuit of a superstar forward
Arsenal remain keen to sign a marquee forward this summer and are making room in their squad by sanctioning the sale of Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal. The Gunners expect to generate at least £50million once the Brazil international's departure is confirmed, which would cover roughly half the funds needed to pull off an unlikely deal for Alvarez.
Arteta has already seen Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior evade his clutches over the past two months, while Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola is understood to prefer a move to Liverpool. Reports over the weekend suggested Alvarez had softened his stance towards Arsenal after being jeered by his own fans during Sunday's 2-2 draw against Villarreal.
Alvarez's Barcelona fixation
However, El Chiringuito claims Alvarez opted against picking up the phone when Arteta attempted to make personal contact. With funds available and KSE prepared to back their manager, Arsenal have the wherewithal to meet Atletico's demands, but the player is said to remain fixated on the idea of Barcelona.
Atletico, for their part, remain adamant they will not sell to their Spanish rivals and expect the player to be reintegrated into Diego Simeone's first team squad should he opt against joining Arsenal. That prospect looks remote given the damage Alvarez's conduct has caused, with former France international Christophe Dugarry branding him 'an idiot'.
Dugarry's criticism
Dugarry told RMC: 'The player and his entourage are idiots. How can you declare 'I want to leave the club'? Is he stupid, or what?
'The best way to leave isn't to do that. Shut up, be modest, be intelligent in your communication. Didn't you see what happened with Griezmann? Don't you know your management? Don't you know your fans?
'A player who wants to leave should be allowed to leave. After that, it creates more problems than anything else. I also believe that there needs to be respect on both sides.
'The first thing to do when you want to try and reach an agreement is not to spit on your fans, on your club. The way you're doing it, you're completely off base and you're going to get it back in your face.
'That kid's going to have to work hard. He's put a ball and chain on his ankle and it's going to be difficult to turn things around. What a huge mistake!'
