Arsenal transfer news: Julian Alvarez would add 'magic' to Gunners' frontline says Gary Neville as he urges them to sign Atletico Madrid striker

Defending Premier League champions Arsenal would become Champions League winners if they land Julian Alvarez in the final days of the transfer window, says Gary Neville.

The Gunners have made an impressive start to the new campaign, backing up their Community Shield win over Manchester City with a 3-0 demolition of newly-promoted Coventry.

However, Sky Sports pundit Neville says Arsenal still need "a bit of magic up front" and believes Atletico Madrid's Alvarez is the player who would deliver it.

Arsenal, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are among the clubs keen on Argentina international Alvarez, although Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil said earlier this summer that they do not want to sell Alvarez and would not even accept £170m for the forward.

Neville has encouraged Arsenal to test Atletico's resolve in a bid to take themselves to the next level.

"What a squad [Mikel Arteta] has built," said Neville. "If he puts another forward into that, if they could get Julian Alvarez somehow, that would light this place up as you'd have a world-class striker to go with all the world-class defenders and midfielders.

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"They wouldn't just become Premier League title winners they'd go the next step and win a Champions League. It's a massive 10 days. He needs a bit of magic up front - someone that can win a game for you when you don't play well."

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta insisted "the main focus has to be to improve our players and the connection between them". He noted how little Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Ben White played together down the right flank last season due to injuries.

However, Neville reckons Odegaard would be even more destructive if he had a striker like Alvarez to target.

"He [Odegaard] is exceptional. If there was an Ian Wright-type player up front for Arsenal who makes those short runs he'd be even better," said Neville.

"As [Kai] Havertz and [Viktor] Gyokeres always come to the ball, Odegaard has to play possession rather than playing the slip passes. If Arsenal were to sign Julian Alvarez then he'd go up a level as it would be perfect for the style of play."

Fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher agreed Arsenal still need something special in the attacking areas, although he reckons Odegaard and Saka are showing signs of being able to reach world-class levels.

"I still think Arsenal lack a world-class player in the front four," he said. "About two years ago I thought Saka and Odegaard would make that next step. For whatever reason it's not happened due to injuries or Arsenal not being at their best. Those two were close to getting to the levels shown by Man City and Liverpool players, like [Kevin] De Bruyne and [Erling] Haaland or [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mane. They took their teams to the title.

"Arsenal won the league without [Saka and Odegaard] doing it. They did it by having a great defence and goalkeeper. But I still think Saka and Odegaard can get back to where they were a couple of years ago."

Carragher added: "The psychological factor of being champions now will take this Arsenal team to another level rather than buying a superstar player."

Analysis: Odegaard and Tzolis rejuvenate Arsenal attack

Sky Sports' Sam Blitz at the Emirates Stadium:

Vinicius Jr this, Morgan Rogers that... Arsenal have shown that their transfer window was better than many made out.

Tzolis looks like a gem, a real livewire down the left wing. After a stale opening five minutes on the pitch, he set it alight with two shots and two chances created in the space of four minutes.

It was no surprise to se him strongly involved in the two goals that put this game to bed, winning the ball high up for the first, then crossing for Saka for the second.

But Odegaard's start to the season cannot be overlooked either. He backed up the stunning Community Shield display with a first goal of the season here, equalling his league tally last season that saw him miss 30 matches in all competitions.

In fact, this was just the second time since December 2024 that Saka, Odegaard and Havertz had started together. All three scored against Coventry.

Odegaard is like a new signing. And with three open-play goals, Arsenal look like a new team.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Arsenal transfer news: Julian Alvarez would add 'magic' to Gunners' frontline says Gary Neville as he urges them to sign Atletico Madrid striker