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MIKEL ARTETA COULD BLOCK JULIAN ALVAREZ TO ARSENAL TRANSFER AS GUNNERS EYE £130M SWOOP

Julian Alvarez continues to be linked with a blockbuster move to Arsenal (Image: Getty Images)

Arsenal are reportedly willing to spend £130million on the signing of Julian Alvarez, but Mikel Arteta will insist on guarantees that he is genuinely keen on joining the Gunners. The forward is desperate to leave Atletico Madrid ahead of next week's deadline, having initially been eager to join Barcelona before their efforts were firmly rebuffed. It has left Alvarez in a sticky spot, with Atletico fans turning on him during their draw with Villarreal over the weekend.

Arsenal are reportedly willing to spend £130million on the signing of Julian Alvarez, but Mikel Arteta will insist on guarantees that he is genuinely keen on joining the Gunners. The forward is desperate to leave Atletico Madrid ahead of next week's deadline, having initially been eager to join Barcelona before their efforts were firmly rebuffed. It has left Alvarez in a sticky spot, with Atletico fans turning on him during their draw with Villarreal over the weekend.

The move would also require the Gunners to balance their finances, with Gabriel Martinelli edging towards a £50m move to Saudi club Al-Hilal.

That would represent a club-record sale for the newly-crowned Premier League champions.

Arsenal are also looking to offload Fabio Vieira with Hamburg driving to complete a deal, while Napoli have shown interest in Gabriel Jesus but the primary obstacle has been the forward's salary.

Jesus has also wished to remain in England but recognises his opportunities at Arsenal will be restricted.

It remains to be seen if Arsenal would even consider a swap deal for Alvarez that would see Viktor Gyokeres move the other way.

Mikel Arteta wants assurances that Alvarez is genuinely keen on the move (Image: Getty)

Reports in Spain have suggested that the Gunners could table a £55m bid with Gyokeres thrown in as a makeweight to drive down Atletico's asking price.

Meanwhile, the prospect of signing Juventus star Kenan Yildiz appears increasingly unlikely given the winger requires knee surgery.

The Gunners have already splashed out considerably this window on Christos Tzolis, Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa, meaning it is entirely plausible they could refrain from further activity even if Martinelli leaves.

Eberechi Eze remains an option to cover the left flank and Arsenal may choose to bide their time, but if the opportunity to land Alvarez arises and the player proves willing to make the switch, the north Londoners are thought to be receptive.

- John Cross and Archie Griggs

BRUNO GUIMARÄES IN HIGH-LEVEL TALKS AS ARSENAL WEIGH UP OTHER TARGETS AMID NEWCASTLE DECISION

Newcastle United have been rocked by a suggestion Bruno Guimaraes wants to leave the club this summer

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 05: Bruno Guimaraes (l) and Sandro Tonali react during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD4 match between Newcastle United FC and Athletic Club at St James' Park on November 05, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Newcastle United will stick to their guns if Bruno Guimaraes decides to hand in an official transfer request - with the Sandro Tonali sale an example of the club's sale policy.

Tottenham Hotspur did not want to pay £100m for the Italy international and were irked by Newcastle's stubborn stance on the deal. And Chronicle Live understands that Newcastle won't be prepared to do any business that isn't on their terms, with Arsenal yet to make an official approach for the Toon skipper.

Guimaraes is taking some time after his World Cup exit but remains in conversation with his representatives. Here's how things stand in the respective camps in the aftermath of news Bruno is considering his future:

Newcastle United's stance

The Brazil international is not for sale and one well-placed source suggested recently that even if an email dropped with the subject reading "Bruno offer", it would not be opened as the skipper is deemed as a vital cog in the wheel at St James' Park.

However, as of the close of play yesterday, the club had not received any type of official offer for the player's services. CEO David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson aren't naive and know that there is interest being drummed up by third parties and those close to the player's agency, but as things stand, there is no question to answer, although that is likely to change.

Arsenal's stance

The Gunners have an interest in Bruno and a decision was made behind the scenes at Arsenal that of the two Newcastle midfielders with uncertain futures out of the Brazilian and Sandro Tonali, the South American was their pick.

Like Newcastle, Arsenal have their own ideas on valuation, and the conversation on Bruno with intermediaries and dealmakers is understood to have begun at £45m. That was dismissed immediately by those at the other end when it was put to them verbally.

The suggestion was that it would take a bid north of £60m for Bruno, but Arsenal may not be willing to meet that. Of course, it is all transfer brinkmanship and negotiation tactics, but the Gunners' case on the player is that he is 29 on his next birthday and his value is only going to go down.

One source at the Arsenal end has suggested that the Gunners may drop the idea if it becomes too expensive for their liking and move on to another target. Bournemouth star Alex Scott and Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi have been linked also.

Newcastle's dilemma could be if Arsenal do offer £60m, Bruno makes it clear he wants the move and pressure builds from the agency.

The Bruno camp

Bruno is represented by Bertolucci Sports, which is headed by Sao Paulo super agent Giuliano Bertolucci.

His close pal and representative on Tyneside is Alexis Malavolta, who runs the day-to-day life of Guimaraes, but the Arsenal situation, deemed transfer poker by industry insiders, could now be above Malavolta's head and be in the hands of Bertolucci and his legal team.

When the story that Bruno wanted to quit emerged last night, there was a suggestion from somebody close to the player's camp that the midfielder had not told anybody he wanted to leave.

What has been said, according to those on the inside at Arsenal, is that Bruno is concerned about the sporting project at Newcastle and the exits of Anthony Gordon to Barcelona and Tonali to Spurs are understandably making him wonder.

He left the World Cup having missed a penalty against Norway in the last 16 and while the player is emotional, it should have no bearing on how he feels about his future.

- Lee Ryder

VINICIUS STEPS UP FOR BRAZIL AFTER SLOW COPA AMÉRICA

Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring for Brazil against Paraguay at Copa America 2024. Reuters

 Tournament football can be a little like a social media voice message played three times faster than normal. Time speeds up. Teams suddenly come together, or just as quickly collapse under the intense pressure of the competition.

Brazil were subjected to the stress test on Friday night against Paraguay after an underwhelming start to their Copa América. Their opening display against Costa Rica was by no means a disaster -- but the goals did not come. At the end of the 0-0 draw, captain Danilo -- seen as a symbol of calm, rational leadership -- was arguing with supporters in the stands.

Part of the problem is a consequence of the recent failures of previous Brazil sides, leaving the current group expected to pay a bill for which they are not responsible. The pressure cranked up still further after fellow Group D opponents Colombia cruised to a 3-0 win over Costa Rica. It meant that Brazil took the field against Paraguay in the knowledge that defeat would mean almost certain elimination.

Instead, Brazil's 4-1 win on Friday means that, barring a mathematical miracle, they have booked their place in the quarterfinals. But they had to confront a few demons along the way.

The traditional resilience of the Paraguayans has broken Brazilian hearts before. They knocked Brazil out of the Copa América tournaments of 2011 and 2015, and they presented coach Dorival Junior's Brazil side with the prospect of a frustrating evening spent trying to break down their defence.

Worse still, with Brighton's Julio Enciso flitting about, and Miguel Almirón looking to have a right at Danilo, Paraguay posed an attacking threat. They came up with the first two dangerous shots of the game. And then on the half hour, when Brazil were out of the blue awarded a penalty for hand ball, Lucas Paquetá put it wide.

At this point, some serious questions were being posed and Brazil did not look up for their stress test. Was Paqueta being affected by the serious charges of spot fixing that have been levelled against him? Would Bruno Guimarães ever dominate the Brazil midfield the way that he does for Newcastle? And were Brazil making a mistake by playing without a recognised centre forward?

Within minutes, all in the same move, the team came up with some answers. It was a moment that might go down as a turning point for this Seleção. Vinícius Junior cut in from the left, exchanged passes with Rodrgyo; then Bruno Guimaraes played a nicely angled ball to Lucas Paqueta, whose sweet lay off was into the path of Vinícius, who had continued his infield run and had broken into the space created by the very absence of a centre forward. And Brazil's 1-0 lead after 34 minutes became 3-0 at halftime, with the game effectively decided.

The first goal was the key. Once Brazil were in front, Paraguay would have to commit more men forward, opening up space for the Brazil counterattack. Brazil's attacking pieces had clicked. And, probably most importantly, it was Vinícius Junior who led the pack.

This is a big tournament in the life of the Real Madrid superstar. Vinícius Junior went to the 2022 World Cup as a bolt-on. He was not originally part of the team constructed by coach Tite, and forced his way in on the run in. But it was not his team.

Times have changed. After a slow start to his international career, Vini is now viewed as the most potent attacking weapon, and this is his first tournament carrying this status.

In the back end of last year, injury restricted him to three of Brazil's six World Cup qualifiers. They were not memorable either for him or for the team -- a draw at home to Venezuela and defeats away to Uruguay and Colombia, with Vini substituted on all three occasions.

And then he was disappointing in the Copa debut against Costa Rica -- though many in the Brazilian media were critical of the decision to withdraw him in the second half. Brazil can be very cruel to its idols, and a second sub-standard Copa display would not have been greeted with such tolerance.

Instead, at the time when the team most needed it -- just after that Paqueta missed penalty -- Vinícius stepped up. This was his first two goal haul for his country, and probably the best match he has played in the yellow shirt.

He dribbled Paraguay right back Gustavo Velasquez to distraction, completing more dribbles in the first half alone than in any previous game he has played for Brazil. And, as he showed with that vital opening goal, there was an end product as well.

Brazil, then, are on their way. But they are still very much a work in progress.

As yet, this team is not remotely near the level of the side that coach Tite took to Qatar for the last World Cup. They do not press from the front with anything like the same intensity. And, despite often sitting deep and playing two tough midfielders in Bruno Guimaraes and João Gomes, they are nowhere near as defensively solid.

This last point has been a point of concern for Dorival Junior, and has been the focus of his training sessions. Even so, Paraguay had plenty of shots on goal. Alisson was beaten by a long range special from Omar Alderete -- Brazil sitting deep but unable to stop the shot -- and was also called upon to make a number of difficult saves.

But with a place in the last eight of the Copa all but guaranteed, Brazil can build for the rest of the competition under much less pressure on their backs. Dorival Junior will trust that in the rapid development made possible by tournament play, he can mould a unit which, spearheaded by Vinícius Junior, can win Brazil's first title of the decade.

- Tim Vickery, South America correspondent