Arsenal told two reasons Atletico Madrid will 'accept' Julian Alvarez and Viktor Gyokeres swap deal

Madrid have made their decision regarding a possible swap deal with Arsenal involving Julian Alvarez and Viktor Gyokeres.

The Gunners, who this week confirmed the signing of Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, remain on the market to bolster their attacking options even further, particularly after missing out on Mrgan Rogers to London rivals Chelsea.

It is understood that Alvarez would be a dream signing for Mikel Arteta, though the Argentina international’s preference to join Barcelona has proven to be a major stumbling block.

However, Atletico’s refusal to sale to a direct rival has left the door open for the Premier League champions and reports claim they are prepared to offer Gyokeres as part of a player-plus-cash deal for Alvarez.

In a boost for the Gunners, Cadena SER claim the offer of £51.7m plus Gyokeres is now under strong consideration from the LaLiga club, meaning the prospect of the former Manchester City returning to England is now a growing prospect.

Furthermore, the report states that Atletico will hold crunch talks with Alvarez once he returns from his summer break after reaching the World Cup final with Argentina.

If these reports are to be believed and the 26-year-old remains determined to leave, then the Arsenal deal is most likely to go through for two reasons; one being Atletico’s stance of not selling to a direct rival in Barcelona and the swap solving the problem of having to find a replacement.

This would represent a ruthless strategy from Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta as Gyokeres only joined Arsenal last summer and scored 21 goals in 55 appearances across all competitions in his debut campaign, helping the Gunners clinch the Premier League title.

Could Julian Alvarez and Viktor Gyokeres be swapping clubs this summer?

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That said, Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil has revealed Alvarez will NOT leave this summer, saying: "My position is clear, the club’s position is clear. We’ve made it known to the player, his representatives, and the president of Barcelona.

“I have absolutely no doubt that Atletico is the right place in the world for Julian, and that Julian is the perfect centre-forward for Atletico Madrid. We want to keep him”.

“I recently heard the president say that the offer he made to Atletico Madrid wasn’t unlimited. My only response is that our answer is unlimited.

“We do NOT want to transfer him. We didn’t accept an offer of €100 million, and we won’t accept one of €150 million or even €200 million."