Thierry Henry’s dream striker for Arsenal distances himself from transfer speculation

Julian Alvarez appears to have distanced himself from rumours he could be set to quit Atletico Madrid, labelling the club ‘one of the best in the world’.

The 25-year-old forward enjoyed an outstanding debut season in La Liga having joined Atleti from Manchester City last summer, racking up 17 goals and four assists in the Spanish top flight.

There had been some questions over the £80m fee that Atleti decided to part with to land Alvarez, but the Argentina international has more than lived up to expectations filling the void left by Alvaro Morata.

However, speculation has been swirling that Alvarez could be on his way out of the Metropolitano Stadium after just 12 months, with Arsenal and Liverpool both credited with a strong interest in recent weeks.

The Gunners have reportedly identified Alvarez as a potential ‘Plan C’ should they fail in pursuit of their two top targets, Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko, in the transfer market.

But Alvarez and his family are believed to be settled in the Spanish capital and it seems the 2022 World Cup winner is not even thinking about upping sticks ahead of Atleti’s Club World Cup campaign.

After naming Atleti as one the ‘best teams in the world’ set to compete this summer’s 32-team tournament, Alvarez told DAZN: ‘I’m very excited about it.

‘Being there, representing the league with this club, will be great, especially considering how happy the club’s fans are to take part in this competition.

‘There will be teams from all over the world with different cultures and different playing styles because there are teams from various continents.

‘It will bring together 32 teams for a great tournament.’

Alvarez is relishing the chance to represent Atleti on the global stage, with a shot at silverware at stake.

He added: ‘The goal is to compete and win. We know it will be a tough tournament, but we will prepare as well as possible and try to go as far as we can.

‘We are aware that this club has fans all over the world and they always send us their best wishes and support via social media.

‘I’m sure there will be Atletico Madrid fans in the United States and it’s a great opportunity for them to cheer us on.’

Earlier this week, Atleti head coach Diego Simeone suggested it was only ‘logical’ that the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool were interesting in signing an ‘extraordinary player’ like Alvarez.

‘It’s logical, I can’t imagine any other scenario,’ Simeone told Argentine outlet La Nacion.

‘Julian is 25-years-old, he’s an extraordinary player, with hunger, with enthusiasm, with humility, with work, with goals, with status.

‘How could everyone not want him? And Barcelona, ​​PSG, Arsenal, Liverpool… the best have to want him.

‘And for us, Atletico fans, it should be a source of pride that everyone wants him.

‘Why? Because he’s ours. And since he’s ours, we have to take care of him. We have to help him feel happy.

‘How will he feel happy? By winning. And to get there, we all have to give 110 per cent. And not just for him, of course, but for everyone.’

On a recent episode of The Overlap, Thierry Henry fuelled rumours linking Arsenal with Alvarez, picking out the former City attacker as one of his ‘favourite nines’ on the planet.

Asked which striker could help steer Mikel Arteta’s side to the Premier League title, the legendary ex-Arsenal forward replied: ‘One of my favourite nines out there at the minute is Julian Alvarez.

‘We’ve been talking about it: putting pressure on, playing it long, low, whatever you want to do.

‘You see the free-kick he scored the other day? He can hold the ball alone.

‘He played at the Olympic Games, he played the Copa America and I don’t hear him saying he’s tired.

‘The way he plays it, I just like him. But it is possible [that Arsenal can sign him]? I don’t know.’

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