Julian Alvarez to Arsenal: Atletico’s £128m standoff leaves Gunners his only way out

The smile that once defined Julian Alvarez’s time in Madrid is nowhere to be seen. Boos rang around the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday when the Argentinian forward was welcomed back to action, home supporters turning on their own man in what has become the most rancorous transfer saga of the summer.

It is a dispute stripped down to its bones: Alvarez wants to leave Atletico Madrid for Barcelona, and Atletico are adamant he stays. The Spanish title-holders have refused even to countenance a move across the country to their great rivals, leaving the former Manchester City striker stranded between a dream he cannot reach and a club that will not let him go.

The tension had been brewing for weeks. Atletico’s president insisted last week that Alvarez is a valued member of the squad who will win the fans round within a couple of games, dismissing any suggestion the forward would be sold and backing him to enjoy a magnificent campaign. Yet the reception on Sunday told a rather different story, and the antics of the summer have done little to repair the relationship.

Atletico’s blunt refusal

Atletico’s stance is blunt. Back in May the club used their official channels to pour scorn on Barcelona’s pursuit, telling supporters not to believe everything they read and insisting their player had been subjected to a smear campaign. For the club, the case is closed. For Alvarez, that leaves his Catalan ambition in serious doubt.

Out of the gloom, however, there is one thread of hope, and it lies in north London. Arsenal have long harboured a genuine interest in the 26-year-old, but for much of the window that admiration has stayed quiet. Mikel Arteta’s side knew where Alvarez’s heart was set and concentrated on other business, landing Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa while launching an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to prize Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid.

Only now, with the Brazilian throwing in his lot with Real Madrid, has the north London outfit decided to lean on the issue. Mateu Alemany, one of Atletico’s senior executives, travelled to the English capital last week and set the terms of any move: a fee in the region of 150 million euros, roughly £128m, a figure Arsenal reckon they could raise quickly should the player give the green light.

The green light that has not come

The catch, of course, is that green light. There has apparently been a slight softening in Alvarez’s position in recent days, a flicker rather than a fire, but nothing yet to set pulses racing at the Emirates. His reservations about a move to England are not born of any distrust of Arsenal; rather, he has been told that visa regulations would complicate visits for his family.

Arteta, for his part, is untroubled by the prospect of a player arriving only because his first choice fell through. The Spaniard is said to be confident Alvarez would commit fully to the project once on board.

That, in the end, is where the saga rests. Deadline day looms on 1 September and the ball sits firmly in Alvarez’s court. Barcelona want him, Atletico will not sell to them, and Arsenal, the Premier League champions, stand as the only viable exit. Whether the World Cup winner is willing to trade his dream for the reality of a London switch will define the final frantic week of the window. BBC Sport’s detailed report on the standoff is well worth a read.