Arsenal Transfer News: Gunners hold talks as Arteta eyes Chelsea target

Arsenal have reportedly held talks with intermediaries over the possible signing of a former Premier League ace who is also wanted by Chelsea.

The Gunners have not signed anyone this January, but remain active in the transfer market as they look to press home their advantage in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta’s side are seven points clear ahead of the visit of Manchester United, and have recently welcomed back Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz from injury, easing the pressure on the frontline, where Mikel Merino had briefly deputised.

Hoping to avoid such issues in the future, Arsenal have been linked with a striker who has Premier League-winning experience.

Arsenal have made tentative first steps toward a potential swoop for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez.

This is despite the Gunners’ strikeforce coming back to full fitness, with Arteta finally having the rare luxury of a selection headache up top.

But according to TEAMtalk, Arsenal – along with London rivals Chelsea – have held ‘discreet conversations’ about luring him over from the Spanish capital.

A return to the Premier League is thought to be an option for the Argentinian, though he would only consider London clubs.

Arsenal’s interest in Alvarez would pose a few questions, not least because they have plenty of striking options – when fit, of course.

But the idea that one of Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus would be content with playing fourth fiddle in N5 seems nonsensical.

That would point towards either a drastic structural change – for example, the Gunners playing two centre-forwards – or an exit to freshen up Mikel Arteta’s frontline.

The latter is certainly more likely, especially when you consider Gabriel Jesus has been the subject of transfer talk throughout his time at Arsenal, particularly as his injury layoffs have threatened to derail his career.

A recent change in agency for the Brazilian may only add fuel to the flames.

Regardless of who, if anyone, goes out, Alvarez would be an intriguing buy from the Gunners, not least because of his connection to rivals Manchester City.

Alvarez would directly challenge Gyokeres for a starting role, and having apparently grown frustrated at Atletico Madrid, one wonders whether he would be happy to battle such a formidable would-be teammate.

On the goalscoring front, they are having fairly similar seasons, with Gyokeres still seemingly acclimatising to English football, as his record of 9 goals in 27 appearances marks a significant drop from his record of 34 goals in 32 games at this stage last term.

Meanwhile, Alvarez has 11 goals in 28 showings, though that is just below his record of 16 in 31 matches at this point in 2024/25, with the striker going on a much better run from mid-February to end the campaign with 29 goals.

The bottom line is that stats don’t often show the full picture – Gyokeres’ start at Arsenal is proof of that.

But given Alvarez’s experience at the top level and room to improve at 25, he is perhaps as close to a like-for-like replacement for the Swede as anyone currently at Arsenal.

Whether there is even room for him is another matter, which could bring the validity of these transfer claims into question.

Graduated in Sport Journalism (BA) with first-class honours from the University of Brighton and has since had bylines in The Times, sports business publication SportsPro, Football FanCast and The Gooner fanzine.

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