Arsenal are reportedly making a late push to bring Julian Alvarez back to the Premier League, with former club youth product John Halls insisting the Atletico Madrid forward could provide the missing ingredient in Mikel Arteta's attack.
According to reports, Arsenal have entered the race for Alvarez as Atletico Madrid look to fend off interest from fierce rivals Barcelona, who are also keen on the Argentine international. Atletico are said to have set a deadline of Sunday evening for Alvarez to determine his next move, just two days before the European transfer window closes.
Arteta is understood to be the driving force behind Arsenal's interest, keen to strengthen an attacking line that, despite delivering the Premier League title last season, was often criticized for lacking a cutting edge in front of goal.
Halls, who progressed through Arsenal's academy alongside Thierry Henry in the early 2000s, believes Alvarez has the qualities to elevate the Gunners' forward line significantly. Speaking exclusively to Standard Sport via casino.net, Halls expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of the deal materializing.
"I love Alvarez and would love him to sign," Halls said. "By the sounds of it, Atleti won't sell to Barca, so that leaves us at the moment, right? So this is now getting a little bit more real!"
The former defender, who is familiar with Alvarez's Premier League pedigree from his time at Manchester City, praised the 24-year-old's versatility and eye for goal.
"I loved the boy when he was at City. He was great," Halls said. "He can score some goals [and] can strike a ball, we know that, and we can get a bit of creative play out of him as well. You can play him in numerous amounts of positions, but I'd love to play him in that No9 role."
Halls suggested that while Arsenal's current forward options, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres, offer certain qualities, neither has provided the complete package the club needs at the top of the pitch.
"As much as I love Havertz and Gyokeres, we missed something special there, and he's that special, special player that might go and get us 25 to 30 goals a season," Halls said.
Reflecting on Gyokeres' debut campaign at the club, Halls noted that expectations for the Swedish striker were modest by comparison. "When Gyok came in last season, I did say, if he can get 10, 15 goals [that's] amazing. Do I think he can get more than that? I'm not sure. Does he give us that much to his feet? I'm not sure."
Asked whether Alvarez would suit Arsenal's style of play better than the club's current striking options, Halls pointed to the tactical benefits of having a forward capable of dropping deep to link play.
"When you have that sort of No9 dropping in a little bit, you can get the wingers running in behind, running across the line, which creates more problems," he explained.
Halls also highlighted the potential partnership between Alvarez and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, suggesting the Argentine's technical ability could unlock new dimensions in the team's build-up play.
"Just knowing that we can get the ball into his feet, and he can do a little bit of magic, and he can link up with Odegaard," Halls said. "He could slot right into that team beautifully. Like we always say, he's played the Prem, he knows what it's like so he could be up and running quickly."
With the transfer deadline looming, Arsenal face a race against time to convince Atletico Madrid to sanction a move that would reunite Alvarez with English football.
Based on reporting from Standard Football.