Arsenal now seemingly have no chance of signing £100m player before deadline day

It appeared to be moving in Arsenal’s direction.

Of course it’s been well established that Julian Alvarez’s dream move is Barcelona, but a move to the Catalan giants looked to be impossible this summer.

Atletico have been adamant they wouldn’t sell to a direct La Liga rival, and there were also doubts over whether Barca could even afford a deal.

However, after Alvarez was aggressively whistled at and booed at the Metropolitano after the Villarreal game at the weekend, his situation at Atletico seems untenable.

Things were tilting in Arsenal’s favour. But now, it seems as though Barcelona have re-entered the picture.

Barcelona are pushing again to sign Julian Alvarez

According to Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany, Barcelona have made their decision internally — Alvarez before deadline day or nothing.

Manager Hansi Flick fully supports the move, and sporting director Deco is pushing hard and won’t give up.

The club’s president Joan Laporta has ‘made the financial means available’ after exploring other strikers.

If Alvarez cannot be signed, Barcelona will end the window without a further striker unless an exceptional opportunity emerges.

It’s been made pretty clear that Alvarez has only ever wanted Barcelona. But with that door shut, it felt like Arsenal had a pretty good chance to swoop in.

If Barcelona really are now pushing with the full backing of Laporta, Flick and Deco, and have made the funds available, Arsenal’s only hope left is that Atletico Madrid keep with their stance of not selling to the Catalan club.

With the relationship between the player and the fanbase seemingly broken, and Barca making another push, they could be pressured into blinking.

In football, things change quickly. But right now, Arsenal’s chances of landing Alvarez look very slim.