Arsenal launch last-ditch swap deal to sign Julian Alvarez

Arsenal are making one final attempt to sign Julian Alvarez , according to a report which claims Atletico Madrid's preference is to sell him to a Premier League club.

Alvarez has been courted by Barcelona all summer but Atletico have vetoed allowing the Argentina player to join the La Liga champions as they do not want to strengthen a direct rival.

Arsenal's interest in the former Manchester City forward has been well-documented and the latest information would appear to give encouragement that a deal could be done.

According to SPORT, Arsenal is Atletico's "preferred destination" for Alvarez and they have completed closed the door on a deal with Barcelona - with "all signs" pointing to England.

It's claimed that Arsenal are prepared to include Viktor Gyokeres in a deal for Alvarez, as well as a sum of €80 million.

They are then prepared to offer him a salary of around €25 million gross per season - making him one of their top earners.

Alvarez would double his wages at the Emirates Stadium and the deal would depend on whether he would be willing to return to England after previously having no intention of doing so.

Gyokeres only joined Arsenal last summer from Sporting CP for a fee of £55 million and was tipped to be the answer to their striker issues.

He did score 21 goals in his debut campaign but found himself on the bench at the back-end of the season, with Kai Havertz leading the line in the big games.

The German has been Mikel Arteta's first-choice up top this season, scoring in back-to-back 3-0 wins over Manchester City and Coventry City in the Community Shield and Premier League.

Gyokeres, an unused substitute at the Emirates on Friday night, is said to have been offering himself to Barcelona on a regular basis.

But the Swede could yet head to Atletico, who are desperate for a new striker given Alvarez's situation and the injury suffered by Alexander Sorloth.

The club's sporting director, Mateu Alemany, has been in London for negotiations over a striker - holding discussions about a potential loan move for Chelsea's out-of-favour frontman Nicolas Jackson on Thursday.

However, Fabrizio Romano has reported that Arsenal did hold a meeting with Alemany where they asked about the conditions to sign Alvarez.

It's claimed Atletico's price tag is considered to be too high for Arsenal, with the rumoured addition of Gyokeres potentially making a move easier to arrange.

On Friday, Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin spoke about wanting to keep Alvarez at the Metropolitano Stadium but caused a stir when he said, "We must understand that Julian has not had the best advisors around him regarding his professional career in recent months".

Appearing to respond, Alvarez's agent Fernando Hidalgo appeared to respond to Marin's comments on Instagram later that evening.

He posted a picture that included a quote which read: “Never ask a liar why he lied. To explain it. He’d have to lie again.”