£100m star agrees five-year deal with Arsenal

Whether Arsenal sign Julian Alvarez is sure to be the story of this summer.

Real Madrid’s £130m bid for the Argentina international has been rejected and rivals Atletico Madrid have no intention of selling him to another Spanish club.

Álvarez wants to join Barcelona and has made his feelings clear towards Atleti, issuing a statement after the World Cup win over Austria, saying he wants to move to “realize his dream” of playing for the Catalan club.

However, Arsenal are still in contention and reportedly consider the former Manchester City striker a “dream signing”.

£100m star could move to Arsenal alongside Alvarez

If a move to Barcelona does not materialize for Alvarez, he is reportedly “very open” to a move to Arsenal this summer, which would be a shock return to English football.

That shouldn’t come as a huge shock to Andrea Berta. That would be a relief. He has been following the World Cup winner for a year and is said to be in regular dialogue with the player’s camp.

He already knows them, and Alvarez was the one who helped broker the move from City to Atleti in the first place.

However, given what’s going on with the Argentine, a more realistic target is Aston Villa’s Morgan Rodgers. However, this will not be an easy thing to achieve.

The estimated transfer fee is thought to be around £100m, and Arsenal are expected to enter official club-to-club negotiations with Villa in the coming weeks to finalize a deal.

The Gunners have already made a lot of effort on the player side, with reports emerging from Italy this week claiming they have agreed personal terms with Mikel Arteta’s side.

In fact, Rodgers has already verbally agreed to sign a contract until 2031, and contract negotiations are reportedly close to being finalized. Berta will now see if he can reach a sensible agreement with Unai Emery’s men.

Why Rodgers and Alvarez would be a dream combination for Arsenal

If Alvarez joins this summer, it would be a breakthrough addition. Josh Kroenke recently described the acquisition of Declan Rice three years ago as a “huge moment” for the project, but this will be another one. It could potentially be even bigger than that.

After all, Alvarez was hailed as a “future Ballon d’Or winner” by Joe Cole and has become one of Europe’s most prolific strikers in recent years.

He was a brilliant goalscorer, hitting the back of the net 29 times during his debut season at Atleti. The Argentine star scored another 20 goals last season.

But this player does more than just find the net. In his final season at City, the 26-year-old provided 13 assists, and added another nine for the Spanish giants in 2025/26.

He’s an exceptional player when it comes to connecting plays. Able to play either as a main striker or in a secondary striker-like role, it’s no surprise that he ranks high as a threat to look forward to in the build-up phase of play.

This metric ranks him in the top 9% of players in similar positions last year when compared to players in similar positions. By the way, Victor Gokeres ranks in the worst 20% of strikers.

The evidence is that if they arrive, playing alongside players like Bukayo Saka and indeed Rodgers, he will definitely succeed.

Whether breaking through the middle or down the left flank, Villa’s superstar is a great asset, a player who combines running ability and aggression with near-equal creativity and scoring ability.

Rodgers also scored 14 goals and provided 16 assists in all competitions during the 2024-25 season, which saw the England international win the PFA Young Player of the Year award. One season later, he scored 14 more goals and provided his teammates with 12 goals.

Having a player like that around you will definitely be music to Alvarez’s ears. He excels at quick combination plays, and Rodgers is no different. It’s a match made in heaven and it feels like a partnership that can finally take Arsenal’s attack to the next level.

Although they won the league last season, much of their build-up play was fairly slow and predictable. Rodgers is anything but predictable. He is a maverick, a forward who plays with players and tries to change the tempo of the game with magical moments. Alvarez is in a similar vein.