UCL: Arsenal interest in Alvarez ‘normal because he’s very good’

By Adegboyega Adeleye

Atletico Madrid head coach, Diego Simeone has confirmed that Arsenal are interested in signing Julian Alvarez but face competition from Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.

Simeone said this at the pre-match conference of the Spanish side’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Arsenal at Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday.

When asked about reports linking Alvarez with Arsenal, Simone described him as an extraordianary player, which makes transfer speculations to top clubs ‘normal.’ He also named Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain as suitors.

“I’m not inside Julian Alvarez’s head,” he said

“It’s normal that an extraordinary player like Julian Alvarez is wanted by Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona. It’s normal because he’s very good.”

Alvarez has scored 48 goals in 104 games for Atletico Madrid since his £82m move from Manchester City, where he won back-to-back Premier League titles and was part of side that won the treble in the 2022/23 season.

The 26-year-old is known to Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta, who oversaw his move to Atletico from Manchester City.

The asking price for the Argentine remains a challenge as Atletico do not want to sell him and even if he asked to leave, they value him at £130m.

Alvarez, who also won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, has sat out of Atletico’s last two games due to a minor injury but is expected to feature against Arsenal on Wednesday.