Arsenal’s pursuit of Julian Alvarez looks to have run its course.
The Argentine striker, who won’t feature in Atletico Madrid’s welcome of Malaga on Wednesday, had spoken candidly about his desire to leave the Wanda Metropolitano this summer. “The best thing for everyone is a transfer. I want to fulfil my dream,” he said during the 2026 World Cup.
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Alvarez going nowhere
Atleti, rightly, feel otherwise. They believe potential suitors should match the €500m release clause in his contract to lure the 26-year-old away from Spain. And ahead of Wednesday’s league clash, head coach Diego Simeone echoed CEO Miguel Angel Gil’s sentiments that Alvarez won’t leave.
“Miguel Angel is the owner of the club. There’s no one more decisive than the owner of the club, that’s perfectly clear,” Simeone began. “It’s like when a judge hands down a sentence: ‘No case to be heard.’ What he said is perfectly clear.”
“From a sporting perspective, we want to take care of the person, the player, so that he continues to uphold the reputation he has. We don’t see him playing in this match. I hope that in these four days he’ll be closer to where we want him to be.”
While anything could yet happen between now and the September 1st deadline, it seems to be back to the drawing board both interested parties Arsenal and Barcelona. The former may have strengthened their left flank with the addition of Christos Tzolis this summer. However, they were left frustrated in their efforts to sign Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid.
Forget Alvarez, go for Yildiz
That’s twice, now, that Arsenal have returned to London empty handed following a Madrid jaunt this summer. The Gunners seem hellbent on bringing in an elite attacker who can play on the left and through the middle. With Gabriel Martinelli, Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Jesus all expected to leave, Mikel Arteta needs attacking reinforcements.
And in their bid to bolster in the final third, they should forego any future trips to Spain and instead book a flight to Turin. Specifically, they’d be wise to take a journey to Juventus and lodge a bid Old Lady star Kenan Yildiz.
Yildiz only extended his contract with the Serie A powerhouse earlier this year. However, Juventus’ failure to secure a Champions League finish means they may yet need to make a high-profile sale this summer. Their inability to cough up the €10m asking price for Emiliano Martinez a case in point.
The 21-year-old is far and away Juventus’ most desirable asset. Admittedly better off the left flank than through the middle, whereas Alvarez is a better suited leading the charge, Yildiz would still strengthen the 2025/26 Premier League champions considerably.
Alvarez and Yildiz compared
Crucially is he is a direct attacking threat down the left flank. Yildiz completed more take ons (78) than any other player in Serie A last season. At a rate of 2.5 completed take ons per 90, it was significantly higher than Alvarez’s 1.3 per 90. Additionally, the former (52.35%) managed a better take on success rate than the latter (51.92%), albeit marginally.
In terms of chances creation, too, Yildiz outperformed Alvarez, creating more chances per 90 last season (2.5 to 2.3, respectively). Both also managed 0.2 assists per 90.
What stands out, though, is that the Juventus man managed to catch the eye in front of goal. Both Yildiz and Alvarez managed 2.1 shots per 90. The Turkey international had the superior shot accuracy (62.5% to 59.09%) but it was the Argentine hitman who returned the better conversion rate (14.81% to 10.31%).
Importantly, too, was that Yildiz was a major penalty area threat. Despite routinely starting from the left, it was the Juventus man who, again, outshone the Atletico hitman. Indeed, Yildiz (7) ended 2025/26 with more touches in the opposition box per 90 than Alvarez (4.4).
While the differing approach by Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti and opposite number Simeone will have affected these numbers, fact is Yildiz provided that effective box-crashing threat from wide. It’s a quality that Arsenal boss Arteta could utilise. The Gunners head coach wants his forwards to come inside from their respective flanks to utilise the space freed up by a selfless striker.
Yildiz would clearly do so to great effect. And while Alvarez is routinely praised for his hard work off the ball, it’s again another area where he fell short of the Juve man. Yildiz chipped in with 3.9 ball recoveries per 90 in Serie A last season. Alvarez managed 2.5 in the 2025/26 La Liga campaign.
Either way, though, Arsenal could do a lot worse than take the money they were going to spend on Alvarez or Vinicius Junior, and throw it Juventus’ way in a pursuit of Yildiz. He’d be a ceiling raising capture and, at his age, would nail down the starting left wing spot for a long time.