Atletico Madrid star makes honest Julian Alvarez admission after failed Arsenal transfer
Julian Alvarez has the backing of his Atletico Madrid teammates after Arsenal failed to sign him(Image: (Photo by Cesar Ortiz Gonzalez /NurPhoto via Getty Images))
Marcos Llorente has admitted Atletico Madrid need Julian Alvarez at his best and scoring goals after a chaotic summer transfer window saga. The Argentine was strongly linked with a move to Barcelona and Arsenal but Atletico were against selling to the former, while Mikel Arteta's side could not get a deal done.
With Alvarez remaining an Atleti player following Tuesday's transfer deadline, he was back in Diego Simeone's side squad for the weekend. He started on the bench and came on for the final 30 minutes with his side 2-0 down, but was unable to prevent a heavy defeat.
Alvarez had a shot on target during his cameo but it was the opponent that scored while he was on the pitch. The return of Alvarez and the conclusion of his transfer saga dominated much of the post-match with Llorente and David Hancko among the Atletico stars commenting on his situation.
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The former said: "He [Julian] is a very important player for us," Llorente said. "He knows it. He'll come in little by little, and the sooner the better, because we need his goals. We have to support him so he's at 100% soon."
Hancko also issued a verdict specifically on his performance on Saturday and revealed what his team-mates plan to do for him going forward.
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"You could see [Alvarez] was doing well, he wanted to take [the game] on himself," Hancko told ESPN. "In a low block, of course he's going to lose some balls. But you could see those sparks, moments when he turned and shot with his left foot. He makes a difference for us in the team.
"I'm really happy he stayed. The whole team, we support him, we're going to stay behind him. We need him and I think he needs us as well."
Diego Simeone also delivered a Julian Alvarez verdict
Simeone also delivered an Alvarez verdict after the game but the question asked to him provided a far more volatile response which caused him to leave his post-match press conference.
When asked why Alvarez was not part of the customary cool down with his fellow substitutes, Simeone replied: "Are you seriously asking me that? I have nothing to say."
Arsenal have thus far coped without a statement summer signing having played three games, scored seven goals and conceded zero. That could change this afternoon as Chelsea head to Emirates Stadium having also started the campaign unbeaten.
The Champions League also starts next week with Arsenal set to play Napoli in Italy while Alvarez and Atletico head to England for a clash against Liverpool.
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