Arsenal's Premier League Ambitions: Gary Neville on Julian Alvarez Impact

Arsenal have already planted an early marker in this Premier League season. Gary Neville thinks one more signing could turn that into something far bigger.

The former Manchester United defender believes that if the champions somehow prise Julian Alvarez away from Atletico Madrid in the final days of the window, the equation changes completely. In his eyes, Arsenal would not just be title favourites. They would be Champions League contenders – and winners.

Neville: Alvarez would "light this place up"

Arsenal’s summer looked solid rather than spectacular to some, but on the pitch the response has been emphatic. A Community Shield victory over Manchester City, followed by a ruthless 3-0 dismantling of newly-promoted Coventry, has underlined the depth and control Mikel Arteta now has at his disposal.

Neville, though, sees one missing piece.

"What a squad [Mikel Arteta] has built," he said on Sky Sports. "If he puts another forward into that, if they could get Julian Alvarez somehow, that would light this place up as you'd have a world-class striker to go with all the world-class defenders and midfielders.

"They wouldn't just become Premier League title winners they'd go the next step and win a Champions League. It's a massive 10 days. He needs a bit of magic up front - someone that can win a game for you when you don't play well."

That “bit of magic” is what Neville believes Alvarez would bring. The Argentina international is admired by Arsenal, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, but Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil made it clear earlier in the summer that the club do not want to sell and would not even accept £170m for the forward.

Neville still thinks Arsenal should at least ask the question and force Atletico to prove how firm that stance really is.

Arteta preaches evolution, not obsession

Arteta, fresh from another dominant home performance, struck a more measured tone in his post-match press conference. He insisted the priority remains internal improvement, not a late-window superstar chase.

"The main focus has to be to improve our players and the connection between them," he said, pointing out how little Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Ben White actually played together down the right last season because of injuries.

The message was clear: Arsenal’s ceiling might rise simply by keeping their best players fit and in rhythm.

Neville, however, can’t help picturing what that rhythm would look like with a different profile of striker ahead of them – especially for the man who knits so much of Arsenal’s play together.

Odegaard’s killer pass, missing the killer run

"He [Odegaard] is exceptional," Neville said. "If there was an Ian Wright-type player up front for Arsenal who makes those short runs he'd be even better.

"As [Kai] Havertz and [Viktor] Gyokeres always come to the ball, Odegaard has to play possession rather than playing the slip passes. If Arsenal were to sign Julian Alvarez then he'd go up a level as it would be perfect for the style of play."

It’s a sharp tactical point. Havertz and Gyokeres, who prefer to receive to feet, drag Odegaard towards recycling and control. Alvarez, with his sharp movements in behind and between defenders, would invite the Norwegian to feed those little darts that used to define Arsenal’s best attacking spells under Arsene Wenger.

Right now, Odegaard is still thriving. But Neville is convinced a striker of Alvarez’s instincts would turn him from conductor into executioner.

Carragher: World-class spark still missing

Jamie Carragher sees the same gap in the squad, even if he views the solution slightly differently.

"I still think Arsenal lack a world-class player in the front four," he said. "About two years ago I thought Saka and Odegaard would make that next step. For whatever reason it's not happened due to injuries or Arsenal not being at their best. Those two were close to getting to the levels shown by Man City and Liverpool players, like [Kevin] De Bruyne and [Erling] Haaland or [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mane. They took their teams to the title.

"Arsenal won the league without [Saka and Odegaard] doing it. They did it by having a great defence and goalkeeper. But I still think Saka and Odegaard can get back to where they were a couple of years ago."

Carragher’s argument leans more on psychology than recruitment.

"The psychological factor of being champions now will take this Arsenal team to another level rather than buying a superstar player," he added.

For him, the leap from very good to world class in attack might come from inside the dressing room, not the boardroom.

Tzolis and Odegaard ignite a new-look Arsenal

On the evidence of the Coventry game, there is already a fresh spark in Arsenal’s forward line.

Vinicius Jr and Morgan Rogers dominated the early summer chatter, but Arsenal’s quieter business is starting to look shrewd. Christos Tzolis, in particular, has exploded into the picture.

After a flat first five minutes on the pitch, the winger suddenly caught fire. Two shots, two chances created in four frantic minutes, and Emirates Stadium woke up. From there, he never really let Coventry breathe.

Tzolis played a major role in the two goals that killed the contest, first winning the ball high up the pitch for one, then delivering the cross for Saka to finish the second. He looked like a livewire, a player who forces defenders to turn and panic rather than stand and watch.

On the opposite flank and through the middle, Odegaard quietly reinforced his own importance. He followed up his outstanding Community Shield display with his first league goal of the season, already matching last year’s tally after a campaign ruined by injuries that saw him miss 30 games in all competitions.

There was another telling stat: this was only the second time since December 2024 that Saka, Odegaard and Havertz had started together. All three scored against Coventry. That trio barely had a chance to develop any kind of chemistry last season. Now, with minutes and confidence, they are beginning to look like a properly synchronised front unit.

"Odegaard is like a new signing," came the verdict from the press box. With three open-play goals already on the board, Arsenal themselves look like a refreshed side rather than a defending champion trying to cling on.

The question now is whether Arteta and the club hierarchy are content to ride that internal resurgence – or whether they’ll test Atletico’s resolve and chase the kind of forward who could turn a strong squad into a European juggernaut.