Julian Alvarez to 'join Arsenal for a year and then sign for new club'

Julian Alvarez could effectively use Arsenal as a buffer to help facilitate a big-money move to Barcelona next summer.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Gunners would essentially be signing the Atletico Madrid star on loan, but with the chance of profit.

The former Man City striker has certainly backed himself into a corner in La Liga, having shared his desire to join one of Atletico's biggest rivals in Barcelona.

Despite his dreams of playing at the Nou Camp, Mikel Arteta's side are huge admirers of the player and appear to still have hope of sealing a deal.

A deal certainly wouldn't be cheap, though, with Atletico wanting north of £130million for the player's signature, as the situation comes to a head.

Alvarez has now missed two training sessions, with the club citing illness as the reason, but all signs point towards a departure for the Argentina international.

Arsenal could 'facilitate' Julian Alvarez's move to Barcelona

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson believes that the Gunners could sign the striker for just one season, being treated as a stepping stone to Barcelona.

"A friendly club, such as Arsenal, could take a view that, where they brought him with a view to immediately selling him next summer to Barcelona," he said.

"So effectively they house him away from Atletico Madrid for a year. That facilitates the deal to Barcelona next summer, and they back-to-back it.

"Arsenal get the benefit of the player for a year. The player's happy to go because he knows that there is a deal to Barcelona next summer.

"Or they just see it through. Players have come back from much less than this. It wouldn't surprise me if he stayed at Atletico, clearly, but I definitely don't think the deal's dead for Arsenal."

What other business could Arsenal do this summer?

The Gunners are running out of time to get any further pieces of business done, but it would appear that multiple moves could be made.

Football Insider understands that Arsenal may find it difficult to strike an agreement for Kenan Yildiz, while Gabriel Martinelli looks set to leave.

Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Jesus, and Myles Lewis-Skelly all face uncertain futures, and that comes after Reiss Nelson's contract was terminated.

Arteta will only make smart additions to the squad if Arsenal are to make any more purchases, but that seems unlikely at this moment in time.