Arsenal‘s failure to bring in an elite forward over the course of the transfer window is well documented.
Will it come back to bite the Gunners? Quite possibly. Either way, judging by the evidence we have seen against Manchester City, Coventry City and Aston Villa, they will have enough to win back-to-back Premier League crowns.
However, Kai Havertz, who scored in two of those games, did underwhelm against Villa and Viktor Gyokeres is yet to see a single league minute all campaign.
That final point tells you Mikel Arteta no longer fancies him. Julian Alvarez would have been the perfect replacement.
Why Alvarez was Arsenal’s dream Gyokeres replacement
Last season, while Gyokeres ended it as the club’s top scorer with 21 goals in all competitions, Arteta was not particularly keen on utilising him in the big moments.
Havertz started ahead of the Swede in the Carabao Cup and Champions League finals. Why? Well, the German knits play together more intricately than Gyokeres. He’s a target man but he also brings a level of technical security and assurance that Arsenal’s big-money centre-forward does not bring.
Truthfully, the former Sporting man has been a poor signing. Sure, he helped fire the Gunners to their first league title in over two decades but it speaks volumes a year on that he is sat on the bench.
It also speaks volumes that Arsenal tried so hard to sign another striker over the summer. Alvarez was their man but we all know how that ended.
Arsenal reportedly had a £102m deal agreed with Atletico Madrid agreed to bring him to the Emirates Stadium but the player rejected it, only interested in pursuing a move to Barcelona. That did not happen.
Should he have signed, he would have been a colossal upgrade on both Havertz and Gyokeres. Like the former, he’s got the technical ability to outfox defenders and he links up play really tidily.
Like the latter, he’s a natural-born goalscorer, but even better at the highest level. Alvarez netted 29 during his first season in Madrid and bagged another 20 last term. It was pretty much on parity with Gyokeres’ debut year in north London.
Yet, Alvarez is not just a fierce ball striker. He involves himself in the build-up play, ranking among the finest 9% of centre-forwards in Europe’s top five leagues last season for expected threat in the build-up phases of play.
Arsenal’s number 14, for context, ranked among the worst 20%. The difference in class and quality between the two is night and day.
Expected Threat (xT) is a metric that quantifies how much a player’s actions (like a pass or carry) increase their team’s probability of scoring.
That said, the club’s hunt for a new striker was not just restricted to Alvarez.
Arsenal looked at several Alvarez alternatives
In the grand scheme of things, Arsenal rather wasted their time on the 2022 World Cup winner this summer.
The general feeling from inside the club was that come the end of the window, the Argentine would loosen his Barca-only stance. Sadly for Andrea Berta and his recruitment team, that never happened.
Alternatives were considered in the final weeks of the transfer window. Arsenal made enquiries regarding Newcastle new man Matias Fernandez-Pardo, Victor Osimhen was also an option at one stage while Eli Junior Kroupi was a player they’d have loved to bring in before he was ruled out for three to four months with a foot injury.
One name that did not pop up during the summer was Lautaro Martinez. However, after the window shut, The Daily Mail revealed that Arsenal coach Gabriel Heinze – a fellow Argentine – held talks with the player last week in a bid to convince him to move to London.
That said, while Martinez’s response is unknown, Inter refused to entertain any sort of deal. It’s a shame. After all, as Mario Kempes put it, the 29-year-old is “among the best strikers in the world.”
Compared to Alvarez, he may not have the carrying or chance-creation skills that his fellow countryman boasts, but in recent years, he’s certainly been more prolific in front of goal.
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Martinez vs Alvarez: 2025/26 league stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90 mins) |
Martinez |
Alvarez |
|
Non-penalty goals |
0.70 |
0.28 |
|
Shots |
3.80 |
2.56 |
|
Big chance involvement |
1.69 |
0.90 |
|
Open play expected assists |
0.11 |
0.16 |
|
Open play big chances created |
0.50 |
0.43 |
|
Shot-ending carries |
0.70 |
1.66 |
|
Expected threat in build-up |
0.49 |
0.41 |
|
Successful dribbles |
0.87 |
1.23 |
|
Progressive carries |
0.74 |
1.99 |
Indeed, in six of the last seven seasons, Martinez has enjoyed 20-goal plus campaigns. He’s one of Europe’s most ruthless strikers, scoring 27, 24 and another 22 in the last three years. Alvarez by comparison, has bagged 19, 29 and 20.
Interestingly, the former is also more involved in the build-up than Alvarez, an area the latter thrives in. He’s certainly more involved than Havertz and Gyokeres too.
So, while he may be approaching his 30s, this would have been another fantastic win-now signing for Arteta and Co.
