Atletico give Alvarez Arsenal deadline as player misses 3rd training session

Julian Alvarez has missed training with Atletico Madrid for a third successive day, with the Spanish club reportedly giving the striker until tomorrow to decide whether he wants to join Arsenal or remain in Madrid.

The Daily Mail reports that Atletico are anticipating an Arsenal bid and have already started considering possible replacements, with Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee among their options.

Zirkzee also has an offer from Fiorentina, while Juventus and Napoli are interested in him.

The Daily Mirror reports that Alvarez again missed Atletico’s final training session before their La Liga fixture away to Sevilla and will not feature in the match.

It describes the striker’s absence as a sign of a complete breakdown in his relationship with Atletico, while reporting that the Spanish club remain prepared to do business with Arsenal.

Alvarez, as we all know, wants to join Barcelona, but Atletico are still refusing to sell him to a La Liga rival.

That leaves Arsenal with a potential opening before Tuesday’s deadline, although the Gunners would need to clear space in their squad with departures.

Gabriel Martinelli is reported to be close to a £55 million move to Al Hilal, while Arsenal also want to move on Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira. They have also released Reiss Nelson on a free.

The picture in Spain is more complicated.

AS reports that Alvarez did return to Atletico’s Cerro del Espino training base on Friday afternoon after missing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning because of “indis­pos­i­tion”, but worked alone with a physical trainer rather than rejoining his team-mates.

He will not travel to Sevilla, as Diego Simeone has already confirmed, while Atletico continue to press him for a decision as the September 1 deadline approaches.

Miguel Angel Gil Marin, Atletico’s chief executive, said on Thursday: “It’s really bad. They have deceived and con­fused him.”

Gil Marin also said: “My per­sonal dream is that he is still with us.”

Simeone, meanwhile, said: “From the moment (Julian) returns to train­ing I will do everything pos­sible to make him feel import­ant.”

AS reports that Atletico have told Alvarez both privately and publicly that negotiations with Barcelona will not be opened. The striker, who is under contract until 2030, is now considering whether to remain at Atletico, pursue a move to Arsenal or seek another solution before the window closes.

The report adds that a return to England does not particularly appeal to Alvarez, despite Arsenal waiting for him, while the player has held several meetings with his family and representative as he considers his options.

Another Spanish report presents a similarly tense picture. As mentioned above, Alvarez missed his third consecutive Atletico session before the Sevilla match, prompting Simeone to admit: “Obvi­ously he’s not going to be against Sevilla.”

The Atletico manager remains hopeful that the situation can still be repaired.

“The club was blunt and clear with what they explained and with what is going to hap­pen. I am still in the same pos­i­tion, hop­ing from the sport­ing side to be able to help him in the best way so that he con­tin­ues to be the very import­ant foot­baller that he is for us,” the coach said at a press con­fer­ence that revolved around Julian’s future.

Gil Marin has also elaborated further on what he sees as people around the situation of misleading the striker. According to the report, the Atletico chief executive said Alvarez is “really bad” because because “there are people who have taken it upon them­selves to deceive and con­fuse him.”

Simeone has continued to make clear that he wants Alvarez back in his squad if no transfer is agreed.

“From the moment he comes back to train with us, we will give him everything to make him feel import­ant, as he is. In life, everything can be reversed as long as we have our health,” he said.

Atletico’s attacking problems have also been compounded by the absence of Alexander Sorloth, who returned to training on August 4 after Norway reached the World Cup quarter-finals, where they eliminated Brazil, before suffering a muscle injury eight days later.

He is expected to be absent for about a month.

“The loss of Sor­loth hurts because it is very import­ant for us, and with what is hap­pen­ing with Julian it has much more impact. The team, from the col­lect­ive effort, is try­ing to gen­er­ate situ­ations that make us win the games and have scor­ing oppor­tun­it­ies,” Simeone said.

In the absence of both recognised strikers, Ademola Lookman started through the middle against Malaga and Villarreal, despite Simeone acknowledging that the position does not suit him.

Alvarez appeared briefly against Villarreal, but the reaction at the Metropolitano made clear that supporters are angry with his desire to leave.

Simeone has nevertheless delivered a simple assessment of Atletico’s current problem: “To win titles you need strikers.”

With Alvarez missing the Sevilla game, Atletico demanding a decision in the next 24 hours and Arsenal still waiting, the next stage now rests largely with the player.

The Spanish club have closed off his preferred route to Barcelona, but remain receptive to Arsenal, leaving the Gunners with a genuine opportunity if Alvarez decides that returning to England is preferable to staying in Madrid.