Arsenal to 'come back' with last-gasp Julian Alvarez move

Arsenal will come back with a final attempt to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day despite his hesitancy.

That is the opinion of experienced former Tottenham, Everton and Aston Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The Gunners have spent weeks attempting to convince the 26-year-old that a return to the Premier League is his best option this summer

Alvarez is desperate to join Barcelona and has remained wedded to a potential move to the Spanish champions, despite Arsenal's interest.

The Argentina international reportedly has personal issues with a return to England, yet a deal with Barcelona has been ruled out by Atleti and many of his bridges have been burned in Madrid.

The Gunners have remained in the background in case the forward does change his mind, in which case they would be ready to thrash out the £128million deal.

Julian Alvarez would be a 'game-changer for Arsenal'

It has been a frustrating summer for Arsenal's attempts to upgrade their attack.

The Gunners spent weeks chasing a potential move for Vinicius Junior, who ultimately ended up signing a new deal at Real Madrid.

It has been a similar situation with Alvarez, with the chances of a late move seemingly diminishing by the hour.

"For me, that was the one that would be maybe a game-changer for Arsenal if they'd brought him in. So, for me, that would be the player that would be a big miss," King told Football Insider.

"I know he wants to go up Barcelona, but [Diego] Simeone, he doesn't want that to happen. I think Arsenal will come back with a bigger fee, don't you?

"I think his fear would be, obviously, the language and the living style. I would imagine, you know, he speaks the same language from where he is, Atletico, down the road to Barcelona.

"Whether he's unsure about that, but I certainly wouldn't be unsure about the team I was going to, because, you know, maybe he's getting conflicting reports about living in London. 

"Something seems to be turned in his head and I thought Arsenal would have been a far better bet than Barcelona at the moment. Alvarez was the one. He would have been the one that I would have said he would definitely be the man."

Time running out for Arsenal

With Fabio Vieira, Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all set to leave on deadline day, Arsenal have been left short.

They had been weighing up a potential move for Lyon forward Malick Fofana, but Sunderland appear to have stolen the march on a move for him.

With just hours left of the window and a move Alvarez unlikely, options are running out for Arsenal.

It remains to be seen whether a late deal could become available, with an addition certainly feeling necessary.