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

LIVERPOOL MAY HAVE ALREADY FOUND THEIR MOHAMED SALAH REPLACEMENT

There is a standout candidate being tipped to replace the Egyptian King

GOODBYE: MOHAMMED SALAH
REUTERS

Liverpool may have already found their replacement for Mohammed Salah.

The Egyptian star announced on Tuesday that this season will be his last for the Reds, calling time on a trophy-laden nine-year spell on Merseyside.

Salah will hope to add to his bursting trophy cabinet during his final months at the club, having already picked up two Premier League winners' medals and lifted the Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

It has been reported that talks between Liverpool and Salah over a summer exit have been ongoing for months, with the idea of cutting his contract short first discussed in December.

Salah signed a new two-year deal last summer, but has forfeited the final 12 months - valued at around £20million - to be allowed to leave Anfield on a free transfer.

It has allowed Liverpool to begin casting their eye over potential replacements, and one name is ringing louder than others.

Yan Diomande is the favourite with the bookmakers to be Salah's replacement at Anfield.

The RB Leipzig star has been attracting interest from Europe's top clubs after a stellar first season in the Bundesliga, which has seen him rise to prominence after making his breakthrough with Leganes in La Liga.

Premier League pair Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen are joint-second in the market, followed closely by Tottenham duo Dejan Kulusevski and Mohamed Kudus, and Brighton's Yankuba Minteh.

The cheapest option may prove to be Harry Wilson, who left Liverpool to join Fulham and is currently set to be a free agent in the summer. Much like Salah, Christian Pulisic left Chelsea to prove his worth elsewhere and is now an attractive option at AC Milan.

Perhaps more eye-catching options include Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola, both of Paris Saint-Germain, while Rodrygo has regularly been tipped to leave Real Madrid.

Mohamed Salah replacement odds

Yan Diomande: 3/1

Anthony Gordon: 4/1

Jarrod Bowen: 4/1

Dejan Kulusevski: 5/1

Mohamed Kudus: 5/1

Harry Wilson: 5/1

Yankuba Minteh: 5/1

Christian Pulisic: 7/1

Rodrygo: 8/1

Kenan Yildiz: 8/1

Michael Olise: 10/1

Desire Doue: 12/1

Bradley Barcola: 12/1

(Odds via BettingLounge, subject to change.)

- ALEX YOUNG

CANADA FORWARD JONATHAN DAVID SCORES IN SERIE A DEBUT

MILAN -- Canada forward Jonathan David scored in his Serie A debut to set Juventus on the way to a 2-0 win over Parma in their season opener on Sunday.

David joined Juventus in July on a free transfer after his five-year contract at Lille expired.

Juventus ended the match with 10 men after Andrea Cambiaso was sent off seven minutes from time but substitute Dusan Vlahovic doubled the Bianconeri's lead moments later.

"It's everything I hoped for," said David, who was given a standing ovation when he was replaced by Vlahovic in the 80th minute. "It was the first game of the season and the fans brought an amazing atmosphere and you could feel them pushing us forward.

"I'm happy to score in my first game but the most important thing is the three points."

The 25-year-old David scored 25 goals and provided 12 assists in 49 matches across all competitions for Lille last season.

Jonathan David made an immediate impact in his Serie A debut, scoring a goal to help Juventus secure a 2-0 victory over Parma. Photo by ALESSANDRO DI MARCO/EPA/Shutterstock

David is also Canada's all-time leading scorer with 36 goals in 67 appearances.

"The target is to help the team as much as I can," David said. "If it's by scoring goals, by getting assists, running back, defending, I will do everything.

Juventus struggled in the first half but was dominant after the break and broke the deadlock in the 59th minute when David got in front of his marker to prod home Kenan Yildiz's cross.

Yildiz also set up Juve's second as a rapid counterattack saw Vlahovic send him down the right and then race from the center circle into the box to tap home the return pass.

That came shortly after Cambiaso earned himself a needless red card. He had gone up together with Mathias Løvik for a high ball and then reacted by shoving the Parma player and appearing to strike him in the face with his arm.

In other matches from Serie A's opening week, Pisa, which finished second in Serie B last season, surprisingly took the lead in Bergamo in the 26th minute.

Idrissa Touré's cross from the right went through to Samuele Angori, who put it back into the area toward Henrik Meister, but Atalanta defender Isak Hien bundled it over the line instead.

Atalanta was playing its first match of the post-Gian Piero Gasperini era after the coach left for Roma following nine years in charge and was replaced by Ivan Jurić.

Jurić's halftime talk paid off as Atalanta was a team transformed after the interval. Gianluca Scamacca leveled five minutes into the second half, gathering a pass from Mario Pasalic and cutting inside his defender before firing into the far bottom corner.

It was Scamacca's first goal in more than 450 days and he almost doubled his tally in the 58th but headed off the crossbar.

Historic VAR announcement Nico Paz set up one goal and scored a stunning second as Como kicked off its Serie A season with a 2-0 win over Lazio.

Cesc Fabregas' team broke the deadlock less than two minutes into the second half when Nico Paz gathered the ball inside his own half and feinted past a Lazio player before threading an impressive through ball for Tasos Douvikas to run onto and fire past Ivan Provedel.

Nico Paz got on the scoresheet himself in the 73rd minute with a free kick into the top left corner.

Lazio had thought it had equalized 10 minutes earlier but Taty Castellanos' strike was ruled out by the video assistant referee for offside.

In a first for Italian soccer, referee Gianluca Manganiello announced the decision live to the stadium. The explanation of VAR decisions in real time has been introduced from this season in Serie A.

Elsewhere, Sebastiano Luperto scored deep in stoppage time to snatch a 1-1 draw for Cagliari at home to Fiorentina.

- Associated Press