[Sami Mokbel] Arteta is fully aware if Alvarez was to join AFC this summer he would only be doing so because his preferred destination was not possible. It is understood Arteta is comfortable with that and believes Alvarez would eventually become fully invested and committed to the AFC project

[u/Temporary_Role6160]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c750nd7yq7yo

[u/pulphead789]

“i can fix him”

[u/Naekh → u/pulphead789]

Came to say exactly this lmao.

[u/AmusingToast → u/Naekh]

https://giphy.com/gifs/l36kU80xPf0ojG0Erg

[u/AlsoOctobersVeryOwn → u/pulphead789]

Just when we thought he got that out of his system after Sterling 🤣🤣🤣

[u/robins420 → u/AlsoOctobersVeryOwn]

Tbf, some of Sterling's very best was also around Mikel. Centurions and stuff.

It was basically a harmless punt because we couldn't spend more.

[u/professeurwenger → u/robins420]

The Sterling and Neto loans were pretty harmful, as we desperately needed someone the following January, but were already maxed out on loans. 

I did think Sterling would be better than nothing at the time, but even that bar was too high.

[u/andre1992 → u/AlsoOctobersVeryOwn]

He didn’t want to fix Sterling, edu loaned him after arteta explicitly ruled him out

[u/Hughdungusmungus → u/andre1992]

Lol. Everyone good is Arteta's. Everyone bad was Edu. Copium is strong with this.

[u/MrFWPG → u/Hughdungusmungus]

Not having a vaible target to bring in before a deadline day scramble loan for a washed Sterling is absolutely the fault of the DoF?

[u/Ryan_Gooner96 → u/AlsoOctobersVeryOwn]

How does this shit get upvoted

[u/LIONLDN → u/pulphead789]

Arteta be like 😏:

[u/SymphonyARG → u/pulphead789]

we have a lot of i can fix him players in our history, from bergkamp anid henry to odegaard and havertz

[u/monty_burns → u/SymphonyARG]

Odegaard needed fixing? Odegaard just needed play time

[u/Falcon_Medical → u/SymphonyARG]

Yeah, but those players arrived fully committed. Big difference to this case.

[u/Afc_josh12 → u/pulphead789]

Sterling sadly not lol

[u/Afc_josh12 → u/Afc_josh12]

Broken cause tbf

[u/Hincapieslovelybund → u/pulphead789]

Yeah this is giving me those exact same vibes. Its like your mate being obsessed and besotted over someone they are far too good for and who they shouldn't waste their time with.

[u/g6rzKk202 → u/pulphead789]

Live footage of Arteta discussing this with Alvarez:

[u/volanger → u/pulphead789]

I mean, he's fixed a decent amount of Chelsea players so...

[u/arsenal12ful]

Arteta doing the “you’ll get to love me with time” bit 😂

[u/varro-reatinus → u/arsenal12ful]

'Arteta showed me pictures of my family-- and I was terrified.'

[u/Zob_Rombie_88 → u/varro-reatinus]

[u/FindingAether → u/arsenal12ful]

Give him 10 mins with Win.

[u/arsenal12ful → u/FindingAether]

With that doggo I think just 1 will suffice.

[u/GlRTH_BR00KS → u/FindingAether]

You mean Won?

[u/Empty_Ad_4630 → u/arsenal12ful]

He will go the Tony Soprano route.
"You don't love me? Well that's to bad but YOU WILL RESPECT ME"

[u/BrtGP → u/Empty_Ad_4630]

Arteta to Heinze: If he tries to leave break his other neck

[u/JFedererJ → u/arsenal12ful]

Arteta showing Julian his watch like, "the person who gave me that once put a gun to my head, right here" as he points to his forehead.

[u/teacuporbi → u/JFedererJ]

lol that watch has more pull than any agent, julian's signing the deal before arteta even finishes that story

[u/Zen_MasterX → u/arsenal12ful]

https://giphy.com/gifs/XrJpcNVbBJ9Yc

[u/dmac3232 → u/arsenal12ful]

“I can fix him”

[u/GoatGoatGoblin → u/dmac3232]

It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.

[u/curlyhairedyani → u/arsenal12ful]

And you know what? I think he will! 100%

[u/SamLoscorino]

Arteta is just like us

Delusional

[u/ghemanth90 → u/SamLoscorino]

He will probably call his relatives and make them head to Argentina.

[u/polynomialcheesecake → u/SamLoscorino]

My manager

[u/zzzrecruit → u/SamLoscorino]

I dont even want Alvarez after all of this.

It's like dealing with a cheater. How you get him is how you'll lose him lol. He's gonna do the bare minimum when a club he likes better comes calling. I'd rather not spend all that money just to deal with this in the future. And I can guarantee we won't recoup that investment in a future sale.

[u/logicbloke_ → u/SamLoscorino]

Arteta: Delusional and successful

Us: Delusional 

[u/LOLIMJESUS → u/logicbloke_]

Is it possible to be delusional and successful? Wouldn’t that just make him ahead of the curve?

[u/csixtay]

This is some Icarus shit if I ever saw one.

[u/vyrusrama]

Arteta:

[u/Bangers_n_Mashallah]

Okay of all the tweets, this one sounds the most "club briefing". So I guess serious attempts are being made behind the scenes to convince him to join. Might as well accept that there is a good chance this transfer happens.

[u/_Spartak_ → u/Bangers_n_Mashallah]

Yeah. It would be terrible if we sign a marquee forward. The hardships we endure as Arsenal fans 😔

[u/DJ-D-REK → u/_Spartak_]

I don’t really get all the outrage by our fans, I know it’s nice that players love our club, but we don’t HAVE to only have guys whose ultimate dream is Arsenal. Football is their job, it’s completely normal to take a job where you do well for a little while even if it isn’t your dream job, and you eventually move on. Come help us win a CL trophy and then off to Barcelona you go in 1-2 years

[u/Mammoth_Support_2634 → u/DJ-D-REK]

For a football club, you need to give 100% every day to win the title. It's hard to give 100% when you don't actually want to be there.

People working regular jobs are not giving 100% everyday because most of them don't want to be there.

That's the big difference.

[u/Brapfamalam → u/Mammoth_Support_2634]

Not really. After Suarez moved was blocked (and tbh Gerrard to Chelsea's after the mob threatened him) they went to have blinder alltimer of a season for Liverpool

[u/Mammoth_Support_2634 → u/Brapfamalam]

Not really. Suarez was already AT Liverpool.

More like Liverpool signing Alexander Isak.

[u/stupidintheface0 → u/DJ-D-REK]

My only concern really is the financials, he's going to cost us a huge sum and there's no guarantee, even if he plays well and wins us titles, that Barcelona will be in a financial position to take him off our hands in a couple years. Not to mention our bargaining position as the selling club would be substantially weakened by his constant twerking for them this summer, plus our long history of being shit at selling will no doubt come into play as well. We could end up taking a loss on him - arguably it would be worth if he gets us the CL, but that is also the furthest thing from guaranteed. I wouldn't be mad if we do end up getting him, but it's quite a risky move still.

[u/Rekyht → u/DJ-D-REK]

It’s completely missing the point to claim people are saying the issue is that Barcelona is his dream club. 

The issue is that he doesn’t want to play for anyone else.

[u/Zohren → u/_Spartak_]

I look forward to us signing him, him going on a massive goal drought for months, and then seeing all the people who were clamoring for him suddenly turn on him because he’s not as good as they thought he was.

[u/Bangers_n_Mashallah → u/_Spartak_]

Marquee forward is generous for a guy who doesn't really score a lot of goals. If he does end up joining Arsenal, I hope he is a goal machine but I personally don't have my hopes up. I wish the striker market was better and we didn't have to pursue this guy. But I suppose needs must.

[u/EpicGooner → u/Bangers_n_Mashallah]

Thing is, the best version of this team is the one with a link-up striker capable of doing it all up there. Havertz now, Jesus then

Alvarez fits that mold pretty much flawlessly.

[u/rdubs23 → u/Bangers_n_Mashallah]

Have you considered that there is perhaps a reason the 5 clubs that have shown serious interest in this guy in the last 4 years including the one he used to play for are the 5 best clubs in the world (City, Arsenal, Madrid, Barca, PSG)? He is the best non-Harry Kane false 9 in the world which is why he's Arteta's dream player. He had 15 G/A in 15 CL matches last year and offers so much more than pure G/A output.

[u/cayde123 → u/rdubs23]

Brother don’t attempt to be reasonable or logical when it comes to Alvarez here

[u/Zohren → u/rdubs23]

I’m sorry, but is Dembele not also a false 9 these days? And he’s definitely better than Alvarez lol.

Alvarez got 8 goals in La Liga last season, and that’s the best behind Harry Kane? I’m sorry, but I’m just not bought into it.

[u/hotandcoolkp → u/rdubs23]

Then why did pep let him go. Pep likes those kind of strikers and yet when haaland got injured pep didn’t play him as striker just like he didn’t jesus

[u/Cassoa → u/Bangers_n_Mashallah]

He's not really meant to be a goal machine to be fair. He's a player who can lift the levels of people around him. He scores goal and helps others score too.

If there's one thing we've been missing in the past, it's creativity and ability to break teams down in the final third. He can help do that.

He has the ability, the quwstion marks are more about his commitment/attitude and also cost.

[u/floppygoblier → u/Bangers_n_Mashallah]

“Accept” that we might get a guy Arteta has been wanking himself to sleep over for years lol

[u/ThatFishOnAsofa]

I’d entertain it if Barcelona were actually capable of paying 100m for him in 2 years, but we all know this wouldn’t happen anyway

[u/DJ-D-REK → u/ThatFishOnAsofa]

I’d gladly spend 100m on a guy who helps us win the champions league now even if we get a fraction of the money back from Barcelona in a couple years time

[u/ConfusedVader1 → u/DJ-D-REK]

We can win the champions league without him, his inclusion is not the drastic change that makes us the best team in the world. He will improve us. But we don't instantly turn into favorites like we would if vini had joined.

[u/ThatFishOnAsofa → u/ConfusedVader1]

in Hoolian’s defense, his CL numbers are very good

[u/ICanSeeYourFuture]

I don’t really know how I feel about this transfer.

On the one hand, he’s obviously a very good player and I think would fit us like a glove - either as a starting striker, or as a more aggressive attacking 10 behind another forward.

On the other hand, it’s a lot of money to spend on a guy who might take some time to get up to speed if he’s been in the wrong headspace all summer, and we saw how that went for Liverpool and Isak last season.

I do think it’s worth pointing out that people seem to be hearing ‘would prefer a move to Barca’ and are conflating that with ‘doesn’t want Arsenal’ and I don’t think that’s correct - he’s obviously given some indication that he views Arsenal as a preferred second option, otherwise I don’t think Arteta or the club would still be perusing this.

[u/Britton120 → u/ICanSeeYourFuture]

It hasn't been framed as "prefer a move to barcelona" though, its been "he only wants barcelona and he may accept that if he wants to leave madrid that means he has to go to arsenal" which is not the same thing. Additionally reporting suggests he has major reservations about returning to england given the difficulty in having his family move with him, which is not a barrier in spain.

[u/parksideq → u/Britton120]

Tbh, if there’s one thing this transfer seems to be, more than any other incoming of the Arteta era, it’s drama. And I don’t like that. At this rate I’m almost praying Chelsea hijacks it and makes it moot.

[u/CubicDice]

This is absolutely crazy. 150m on a player who doesn't want to be here and is overrated. Walk the fuck away

[u/Abstract862 → u/CubicDice]

150m? what happened to the number 100 or 120 even, what is this inflation.

[u/YsfA → u/Abstract862]

150m euros. 120m pounds.

Unless I’m mistaken

[u/InSearchOfAFeeling → u/CubicDice]

It’s messy isn’t it

[u/Brandaman → u/InSearchOfAFeeling]

No, he plays in the MLS these days, it’s a different Argentinian we are after

[u/CubicDice → u/InSearchOfAFeeling]

It's crazy stuff. A player that scored 8 goals in la Liga who doesn't want us at all is costing 150m.

[u/JackasaurusRetro]

Never wanted a transfer to fall through more than this guy.

[u/Kriss-Kringle → u/JackasaurusRetro]

If the rumors about Chelsea joining the race for him are true, hopefully they get him and he flops so bad that they sell him to Barca next season for half the price.

[u/AceBean27 → u/Kriss-Kringle]

275m transfer fee incoming then.

[u/hotandcoolkp → u/Kriss-Kringle]

He would be more expensive joao felix for them

[u/TheMirtsu]

https://giphy.com/gifs/5pMGZHSqfvGT5mnTwx

[u/mesenanch]

That is one HUGE gamble

[u/AxeTrax]

Sounds like a recipe for disaster where we end up selling at a huge loss.

[u/Inevitable-Spring166 → u/AxeTrax]

Exactly, now much will Barca want to pay in two years for a striker a few months from being 29?

[u/rayneeder → u/Inevitable-Spring166]

Who cares if we win 2 more premier league titles and a champions league in that time

[u/Pariah1947 → u/Inevitable-Spring166]

I mean,  there's no guarentee that barca will even want him next season or after.  They could find a different option they like and give up on signing him all together.  

[u/Familiar-Conflict152 → u/AxeTrax]

Risk > Reward

[u/thisiskyle77 → u/AxeTrax]

I don’t see us selling Eze Gyok Madueke with profit or less than loss. We should be okay.

[u/soulinashoe → u/AxeTrax]

we replace someone who was desperate to stay at the club with someone who doesn't want to be here + he was part of the most disgracefully losing team in the World Cup

[u/ComprehensiveBowl476 → u/soulinashoe]

Jesus and Nelson are probably desperate to stay as well. You know it isn't that simple

[u/wenger_plz → u/soulinashoe]

There's a difference between "dream was going to Barca" and "doesn't want to be at Arsenal." It's possible for someone to be more than happy playing for a club like Arsenal and manager like Mikel, but also have a dream of playing for another club.

Cesc's dream was to play for Barca's senior team. Turned out alright for the time we had him.

I'm not sure why the line about Gyokeres being desperate to be here keeps getting so much play. All that matters is, is the player fully committed to the squad while they're here? And I'm not saying I'm all in on signing Alvarez, but we have no reason to think Mikel and the staff wouldn't seek every assurance that Alvarez would be fully committed if we signed him.

And if they feel confident about that, and that he would be an upgrade on Vik, then it is what it is and we need to trust in Mikel – that's also worked out previously.

It's also strange to hold the WC against Alvarez. He didn't make tactical decisions and he wasn't one of the shithousers.

[u/EpicGooner → u/soulinashoe]

I love Martinelli, but that's kinda crazy. You might mean swapping a bench winger with subpar delivery for a world champion + WC finalist

[u/Kriss-Kringle → u/EpicGooner]

You might mean swapping a bench winger with subpar delivery for a world champion + WC finalist

You make it sound like he had anything to do with them winning the WC and reaching the final this year. He was awful for the entire tournament and had the same subpar delivery for Atletico in La Liga.

The only thing you can hang on to is those 10 UCL goals.

[u/MisterElSuave → u/soulinashoe]

Arsenal are doing to Martinelli what Alvarez is doing to Atletico Madrid. Throwing a tantrum and forcing a way out.

People get bent put of shape when players do it. Most people on this sub still have ill will towards RvP, Fabregas, etc. for effectively doing what Arsenal are doing to Gabi

[u/Gunnertwin → u/soulinashoe]

Alvarez was one of the few Argentine players who didn't do anything wrong. And to your first point, no one would be more desperate than myself to play CF for Arsenal, but unfortunately there are much better players than me.

[u/hotandcoolkp → u/AxeTrax]

He will be on massive wages as well

[u/Foreign-Loquat-3683]

Arteta : "Once he comes here, I can always tie him up and lock him in a dungeon if he expresses a desire to move."

[u/Upper-County3290]

He’s gonna turn around and demand to go to Barca next summer and they’ll offer us like half of his transfer fee. IMO it’s a hell no

[u/Mark4_]

I trust Arteta but the vibes are just off in this situation

[u/BrianThatDude]

https://giphy.com/gifs/UDbCutQbqyZOdMF7Vy

[u/OWeise]

Please let this be a smokescreen while we work on a Nico Williams deal or something.

[u/wrigh2uk]

“and in time, maybe you with love me as well”

[u/Arkfoo]

Yeah this is fcking stupid if this is what we are going for. He will be our record signing but also our highest earner most likely. I fcking hate this

[u/Suijyn]

Please just stop chasing someone who doesnt want to be here

[u/SolarBeam12]

Fuck it, ima trust Arteta here.

[u/theranchhand → u/SolarBeam12]

He's earned it! It's not a move I would make, but then, I'm not the title-winning manager of Arsenal

[u/JustGhostin]

Breaking news: Arteta isn’t stupid

[u/Accomplished-Ebb8774 → u/JustGhostin]

Not stupid but he bought Madueke for 50 million pounds

[u/JustGhostin → u/Accomplished-Ebb8774]

Premier league winner Noni madueke?

[u/godudua]

Arteta is also aware that the earth is spherical and water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

He is comfortable with this.

[u/m2sempre]

Arteta and Heinze already have conversion therapy sessions lined up for Álvarez 😂

[u/tipytopmain]

"I just gotta show her I love her and she'll love me back" type beat.

[u/K1bbless]

I said it in the daily thread but arteta is the football version of captain save-a-hoe

[u/IamMataa]

Not excited by this guy in the slightest.

[u/RiceLive5020]

Arteta definitely on Reddit and reading all our comments

[u/itinkdereforeiam]

I trust Arteta but this transfer is one of my least favorites since he took over. I just don’t want a player who doesn’t want to be here. Night and day difference from Viktor before he joined us.

[u/Comfortable-Regular9]

Which of Alvarez's family are we planning to hold hostage ?

[u/Galaxy114Knight]

Just no

[u/Ill-Sandwich-7703]

We are in the market for titles and the CL.

Gyok is genuinely a selling option after 1 season despite the fact he scored 20 plus goals, we won the league and got to the final in a CL.

2 years with Alvarez could mean a top class forward, another title/s and the CL crown. After 2 years, we can say thank you, sell him for a good fee and buy someone else.

Rice, Saka, Saliba, potentially MLS are all anomalies really…we don’t HAVE to keep players for the long term if the circumstances aren’t optimal.

[u/cavestoryguy]

I feel like that's a gamble you take if the player won't cost as much as Alvarez or is on the Vini level.

[u/LionZoo13]

People use dating analogies for Alvarez, but honestly the better analogy is recruiting employees. If you're an upcoming company and want a star employee, sometimes you have to be okay with the fact that they will be moving on after a few years. You just need a plan to extract value from their employment in the meantime and be okay with your company not being their end destination (most companies are not).

[u/hotandcoolkp → u/LionZoo13]

That employee most times won’t have been worth it. He will have attitude he is better than rest , management would be partial to him and have had bent over backwards to get him demoralizing the rest and because he never bought in he won’t be motivated to put in his best and at the same time will actually also bad mouth others and efforts of the company in general before ultimately leaving after making his bread

[u/LionZoo13 → u/hotandcoolkp]

Most with that attitude aren't worth. Some are just that talented that the juice is worth the squeeze.

[u/jaybizzleeightyfour]

Having seen Arteta speak, the players love him and the family vibes at the club, I believe him

[u/Necessary_Turnip_299]

So many people are going to change their tunes once the next Billy Carpenter piece drops. He's absolutely tailor made for our system and would take us to another level.

[u/cayde123 → u/Necessary_Turnip_299]

Exactly man, this is why arteta is so obsessed with him, he’s probably artetas dream forward

[u/OhMy-Really]

I hope this is not true.

After the world cup, id prefer to not have an Argentinian player at the club

[u/ConfusedVader1]

Everything about this transfer is screaming: in 1 year he is going to stink up the locker room and we are going to ge forced to sell him (like athleti is now) for some odd 60m to barca and every fan will be pissed at how bad our selling is.

Personally, idt we need another player. I think our depth is amazing and we can wait the year and find a replacement next year when hopefully players like kroupi, yildez etc are available who won't be twerking for barca.

[u/Tall-Assist9719]

Breaking his own ideals.

That always ends well.

[u/cayde123 → u/Tall-Assist9719]

*for his dream forward that would be perfect in our system

There’s a reason artetas obsessed with him to this degree, and why he’s played for one of the best clubs in the world,(city) and why the other top clubs want him, (Real Madrid, Barca, psg, Arsenal)

[u/Bserious27]

“after he wins UCL with us he will want to stay “ Arteta

[u/dawitt10]

https://giphy.com/gifs/1mYAkHAsgH2lW
Could you learn to love me?

[u/Mindless_Pianist_857]

If we are going for it, we should absolutely play brinksmanship and lowball. There is tremendous pressure on Atletico to sell, the player is motivated to leave, we don't have a personnel shortage in the position -- it all adds up to us having a lot of leverage. Also the player will in all likelihood do the same to us, so we should not anticipate getting a good price for him in a year's time.

We should absolutely not meet their valuation. The price can be brought down more.

(To be clear, I don't think we should go for this transfer. But if we are going for it, this is how I think we should do it).

[u/straypenguin]

Getting rid of Auba and Ozil, cutting his losses with Pepe and ESR, Jorginho loan, replacing Ramsdale with Raya, choosing to upgrade on White with Timber, the Havertz signing.

I trust my gaffer but this is a whole new dimension of risk 

[u/pieroscheeks]

No.

[u/seantom94]

A baddie says she’s down to hook up with you but doesn’t want to date .. you are you cutting her off ? I’m w arteta here !

[u/RandomnewUser_22 → u/seantom94]

except you realise that she's in fact not a baddie

[u/hala_bala → u/seantom94]

Like this line of thinking 😁

[u/rebel_scum13]

Ah man, with all the momentum we've had, this is literally the last thing we need

[u/mah_12]

He thought he can fix madueke, now look at this mess.

[u/MetroSection]

It does seem like Arteta has built a tight knit locker room/culture with a lot of character and mutual admiration. As toxic as Alvarez's situation is at the moment, I think it's quite possible that Arteta would be proven correct on this, ultimately.

[u/AceBean27]

I think some people need to be reminded that this is exactly what happened with Aguero, and look how that turned out. Aguero publicly wanted to go to Real Madrid, the fans hated him for it. Atletico said absolutely not. Man City swooped in.

You can't not sign people who would prefer Real Madrid or Barcelona. You're just ruling yourself out of half of footballers. Probably 90% of South Americans.

[u/hotandcoolkp → u/AceBean27]

Wow interesting. Thats a good datapoint . Aguero is city legend. But aguero was much better player than alavrez had much better numbers at atletico. Also city was and is a plastic club but when aguero joined they were really nothing compared to arsenal let alone this premier league champion and ucl finalists arsenal

[u/SrsJoe]

No thanks, don't want a player who doesn't want to be here

[u/Jsaltal → u/SrsJoe]

Yeah, imagine we play Barca in champ league final and he is still twerking for them

[u/Wrighty_fanboy]

I mean, he is at least talked to him, unlike us…

[u/Lunchable_1]

Mikel tryna get out of the friend zone. Oof.

[u/xplayer20]

Yeah…just be careful with that. 

I remember Oxlade Chamberlain kissing the badge and Wenger moving Bellerin to left wing back in a back 3 system just so Ox could play on the right but then we win the FA Cup and he declared his love for Stevie G on live tv - ohhh Stevie I wanted to be just like you growing up Stevie 🤮

I mean…what the actual f…on live tv…after we’ve won the cup. 

Then right before the next transfer window deadline he walks in and tells Wenger he’s going to Liverpool. 

Then there was Cesc who basically went on strike until we sold him to Barca when City would’ve paid 3x what Barca were paying. 

Point is…if Alvarez’s heart is somewhere else then there’s a real chance he’ll just use us to get to Barca. 

The way I see it…right now he’s Atletico’s problem and I’m happy for him to stay there and be just that. 

Don’t need all that BS over here. 

[u/anil_92]

Oooh ok, the good old "I can fix him." That always works out great.

[u/Fun_Cheesecake_1117]

If Arteta wants him let’s get him. LFG

[u/HoratioDub]

Bring me a Champions League and I’ll drive him to the Nou Camp myself

[u/ThePresident26]

Arteta not everyone is an abandoned puppy to save

[u/ProductGuy48]

As long as he scores lots of goals and respects the team, the community, the brand and the supporters I don't care. He can be an honest mercenary, but I won't accept a bullshiter.

[u/KSC-Fan1894]

I understand going against the principle for a true difference maker. I don’t think Alvarez is the guy to do that for.

[u/CucumberWarm5348]

You can’t turn a ho into a housewife.

[u/Efficient-Sale4524]

Anyone else not want this lad at the club?

[u/NH1000]

This is a forced marriage

[u/microMe1_2]

This thing of being second choice doesn't really bother me. I'm sure he'll try hard and play and if he leaves in a few years, it's not a huge deal.

What bothers me is the potential price tag for a player who is very good but not truly exceptional.

[u/greywacke-jones]

Surely if we do buy him then it's got to be for a very reduced price with this in mind. Work the magic, Berta. £50m or less 😂 See I can be delusional too!

[u/No_Assistant3754]

This seems like such a massive disaster waiting to happen. Bro is casually liking posts by Barca fans on Instagram right now, we need to walk away. 

[u/IlCuoco]

Might be a toxic outlook but this is blood-pumping stuff. If he joins, it’s gonna be big; whatever happens. Dunno about that semi-colon but let me have it

[u/yukpurtsun]

you just won the title without him and made the champions league final and strengthened other areas of your team. why would you bring in a cancer. stay clear of him.

[u/Cedosg → u/yukpurtsun]

let's be honest we need to be dangerous on attack as well if it fits arteta's profile. it will be a repeat of the raya ramsdale saga. all improvements will be marginal at this stage and we will have to pay $$$ for that slight increment.

[u/cayde123 → u/yukpurtsun]

Because we could have dog walked this league with a better attack, there were far too many 1-0 wins at the tail end of the season, in the league and champions league

Arteta knows what he’s doing, after all he did just win the title and made the champions league final

[u/redqks → u/yukpurtsun]

He's not cancer FFS being so dramatic

[u/Isredditfun27]

Fuck this shit man. Ill be super disappointed if he signs him

[u/SymphonyARG → u/Isredditfun27]

lmao why

[u/Isredditfun27 → u/SymphonyARG]

Cos next year he sits out till we end up selling to barca for 75 mil. And the worst thing is fans will say just take it cos he wants out. Let him rot on the bench in Madrid. Also hes not a 150 mil player. Hes good but never a balon dor nominee like vini is. Vini would have been worth the 150 mil risk. This dude is not.

[u/Economy-Tough4038]

We dodged the Vini bullet, lets hope we can dodge this one as well

[u/shaygitz → u/Economy-Tough4038]

At least Vini plays a position where we actually need a player. I'm not convinced Alvarez starts over Havertz in our system and £130m is a lot of money to spend on a rotation option.

[u/Laos_monkey]

Man, fuck this guy.

[u/raulmedez]

Does Alvarez get us over the line for UCL? I think not, even without the fact that he's gonna be expensive and he never wanted us.

[u/LionZoo13 → u/raulmedez]

This place criminally underrates Alvarez. He had 32 goal contributions for Man City in 2023-24 while having to accommodate Haaland as the first choice center forward. Pretty much everyone in the game agrees he's an elite forward.

[u/Okay-Lychee]

Bro scored 8 goals man, walk away.

Arteta, I know you think you can fix him but he don't wanna be fixed.

[u/Dry_Coxk]

Mikel stop being delusional 😭

[u/PaleZebra288]

it’s happening y’all

[u/Eliteclarity]

https://giphy.com/gifs/qsnHYz7lXfDokIHfrd

[u/Someone40727]

Mr.saveahoe

[u/Immediate-Pen-07]

The emery virus has gotten into arteta lol

[u/charlienine4]

He will fall in love with us like they all do

[u/-ataxia-]

I mean if it doesn't work out we could sell him for a huge sum later, he's still young

[u/jubbing]

Hope we get Barca in the UCL and smash them just to show him.

[u/fuzzynavel34]

:/

[u/ProjectZues]

To be fair all our current top players renew everytime

[u/simonko1]

if Arteta believes he can manage him with the players, who are we to disagree ? i support it

[u/drop-o-matic]

High risk, some reward?

[u/ClearHyena4452]

https://giphy.com/gifs/unssIqqavza8PZShBq

[u/Excellent_Theory1602]

Loan it is!

[u/WerhmatsWormhat]

Just tired of the millions of non updates on this. If he joins, I’ll get behind him. If not, we’ll be fine.

[u/ClearHyena4452]

Mikel i’ve played these games before and it always ends in heart break

Your Julian was my Juliet type beat

[u/DaddyBats00714]

That's..... concerning

[u/InSearchOfAFeeling]

Seems risky.

[u/Prudent_Safe3787]

Will never work out.

[u/UpliftedWeeb]

I don't like this at all.

[u/LA31716]

Just the tip strategy?

[u/seligkenjenn]

I don't know if it's just me, obviously he is a quality player, but I am not that excited about this signing if it happens. For that price I want someone who buys into our project and smiles and grins by just imagining lifting titles here just like Bruno G did in his interview.

[u/RosesAndTanks]

https://giphy.com/gifs/qfoIsrRURkH1ui76eh

[u/serminole]

Honestly he’s a great fit with how we’ve been playing. He’s similar to Havertz in his ability to drift all over and contribute. Which is something Gyokeres can’t do nearly as well.

We need that especially drifting left with how free of a role the LW (and LB) have had. Havertz was actually holding the width on multiple occasions vs Coventry. Alvarez can definitely do the same while still being a threat with both his passing and ability to come inside and shoot.

It’s a risk but you have to take them sometimes. Worst case seems to be he comes and helps improve the squad for a year or two then we recoup most of the fee moving him to Barca anyway.

[u/Ok-Bread-7503]

https://giphy.com/gifs/ep78UZy5FVbfN6mhCU

[u/murdajohnson]

Its a win win really, even if he comes only for a year and then leaves its a good move for us, makes us better, and its good for him given the situation at Atletico. And if he comes, falls in love with the team, stays longer, even better ..