Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres in the summer, but his struggles could have been prevented had the £105million offer for a superstar striker been accepted by a European giant.
The Gunners have been missing a prolific striker to aid them in their final push for the Premier League title. They thought they’d found one when they landed Gyokeres, who last season scored 54 goals in all competitions for Sporting CP.
On the surface, the Swede’s Arsenal production has not been bad – 13 goals and two assists. However, in the last 15 Premier League games, Gyokeres has had just six shots on target.
He has scored with four of those, suggesting that if he got himself into positions to score more often, he would, but he simply isn’t doing so.
These struggles could potentially have been prevented, as Spanish journalist Ruben Uria has suggested there were attempts made to sign Julian Alvarez in the summer.
Uria said on YouTube: “The English club offered him a five-year contract worth €12million net per season. Arsenal made Atlético Madrid an offer of €100 million plus €20 million in bonuses for Julián Álvarez during the Club World Cup. The club rejected the offer, stating that Julián Álvarez was not for sale.”
Whether that is true is unclear, as those reports have not been picked up by any more reputable sources. But Arsenal have indeed shown interest in Alvarez, so the point remains that had they signed him, things could have been different.
Alvarez has Premier League experience – two titles, 36 goals and 19 assists for Manchester City in just over 100 games.
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The struggles that Gyokeres has faced would surely not be quite as evident for the Argentine. The Gunners could potentially right their wrong, as a report of late has suggested that Arsenal – and Manchester United – have ‘offers on the table’ for Alvarez.
They are believed to remain attentive to the situation of the Atletico Madrid man.
Our friends at TEAMtalk have revealed, through insider Graeme Bailey, that Arsenal have maintained steady communication with Alvarez of late, discussing the structure of a potential deal to sign him.
Reports are believed to have been positive at the Emirates, though it’s said to be known that if Alvarez is to leave the Spanish capital this summer, he wants to make a move to one of the country’s biggest clubs, Barcelona.
Arsenal and other Premier League clubs are aware of that, but are said to be pushing in case Barca can’t land the striker.
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