Arsenal's Push for Julián Álvarez and Osimhen Talks

Arsenal opened their Premier League season in cruise control. A 3-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry City at the Emirates on Friday night, goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard, and a performance that looked every inch like a title defence beginning on schedule.

It still isn’t enough for Mikel Arteta.

Even with Havertz scoring as a central striker and the attack flowing around him, Arsenal are driving hard to add a marquee centre-forward before the window closes. The focus, once again, has turned to Julián Álvarez.

Arsenal’s last throw for Álvarez

Álvarez has been clear about one thing: he does not want a return to England. After leaving Manchester City for Barcelona in 2024, the Argentina international has made his preference for staying in Spain known.

Arsenal are refusing to take no for an answer.

According to Spanish outlet SPORT, Atletico Madrid would rather sell Álvarez to Arsenal than strengthen direct La Liga rivals Barcelona. To make that happen, the report claims the Gunners are ready to put a huge package on the table: Victor Gyökeres plus €80million (£68m) in exchange for the 26-year-old.

The financial commitment would not stop there. Arsenal are said to be offering Álvarez an annual salary of €25m (£21m), a deal that would place him among the club’s top earners and, per the same report, roughly double his current wages.

It is being framed as a last-ditch effort, a final, eye-watering proposal to tempt a player who has so far resisted the idea of another Premier League chapter. Atletico’s stance, Arsenal’s need for a top-level No. 9 and Barcelona’s interest have turned Álvarez into one of the most delicate attacking dominoes of the summer.

If he moves to north London, it reshapes Arsenal’s forward line. If he doesn’t, Arteta and the recruitment team already have another plan in motion.

Osimhen enters the frame

Just as the Álvarez pursuit reaches its critical phase, another name has reappeared on Arsenal’s radar: Victor Osimhen.

Foot Mercato report that Arsenal have opened negotiations with Galatasaray over the Nigeria international, who has become a dominant force in Turkey. Osimhen has fired the Istanbul club to back-to-back league titles and re-established himself as one of Europe’s most feared penalty-box strikers after his Napoli days.

His situation, though, is complicated. The 27-year-old’s future has been uncertain for months, and Tottenham are also reported to hold an interest. Any deal will have to confront his current salary, believed to be around £17.1m a year, a figure that could force him to accept a significant wage cut if he is to move.

Osimhen’s name first surfaced between the clubs when Galatasaray explored deals for Ethan Nwaneri and Gabriel Martinelli. Those talks did not produce a transfer, but they opened a channel that Arsenal are now testing again as they weigh alternatives to Álvarez.

A title defence built on ambition

Arsenal’s opening-night win suggested a squad already capable of sustaining another title push. Yet the club’s transfer strategy tells a different story: the champions want more firepower, more variety, more ruthlessness in the box.

Whether it is Álvarez, Osimhen or neither, Arsenal are clearly intent on landing a statement centre-forward. The only question now is which elite striker will be leading the line when the real pressure of the season begins to bite.