Arsenal have been handed a new boost over Julian Alvarez after Barcelona reportedly halted their pursuit of the Atletico Madrid striker.
Barcelona had been pushing hard to sign Alvarez this summer and previously saw a bid worth €100million (£85m) for his services rejected by their LaLiga rivals.
The former Manchester City forward has been public about his desire to complete a dream switch to the Camp Nou, but Atletico have remained steadfast in their stance that he is not for sale this summer at any price.
Arsenal also maintain a long-term interest in Alvarez as they look to step up their transfer business before the September 1 deadline, having agreed a £51m deal with Aston Villa for England defender Ezri Konsa.
The Gunners are also moving to sign Manchester United youngsters James Scanlon and Habeeb Ogunneye.
According to ESPN, Barcelona have now decided to end their attempts to sign Alvarez for now and are assessing other options to improve their attack before the end of the window amid links to the likes of Sporting frontman Luis Suarez, Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez and Villarreal duo Ayoze Perez and Georges Mikautadze.
They have also been tentatively linked with a shock swoop for Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres.
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick needs further reinforcements in the final third to complement the signings of Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, after Ferran Torres joined Paris Saint-Germain and Robert Lewandowski left the club at the end of his contract, moving to Major League Soccer (MLS) with Chicago Fire.
Alvarez was recently seen posing for photos in Atletico’s new kit ahead of the season, but was, as expected, omitted from Diego Simeone’s squad for their LaLiga opener at home to newly-promoted Malaga on Wednesday night.
Simeone had confirmed ahead of the game that the 26-year-old would not feature as he builds up his fitness in the aftermath of an extended break that followed Argentina’s run to a second successive World Cup final in North America earlier this summer.
Despite not playing in the 2-0 win over Malaga, Alvarez was still targeted by negative chants and whistles from a small section of the Atletico fanbase who are angry about his wish to leave and join Barcelona, while a fan banner criticising his conduct also circulated on social media.
Asked about those chants after the game, Simeone - who insisted earlier this week that Alvarez was his best player and that Atletico would look to build their team around him - said: “I respect our fans very much.”
On transfers generally, he added: “We're always open to the possibility of something happening. It's something I've always said, and it doesn't mean I'm talking about anyone in particular.
“I've always said it. The club is working to give us the best possible squad.”
Real Madrid also made a shock €150m (£130m) offer for Alvarez in June, but it was swiftly rebuffed by their cross-city rivals.
