There are perhaps some signs that Arsenal still have hope of signing Julian Alvarez in a hugely ambitious transfer deal this summer.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYThe latest from Fabrizio Romano is that Barcelona, who have made Alvarez a dream target, have started looking for alternatives up front, which could point towards them giving up on landing the Argentina international.Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “Barcelona have started internally at the moment, so president, director, coach, people at the club, started discussing alternative options if they can sign Julian Alvarez. So, Barcelona have started considering alternatives.”This follows a few other reports also giving Arsenal some hope of still being in the race for Alvarez.What’s being said about Arsenal and Julian AlvarezBen Jacobs has been quoted as saying not to rule out Arsenal yet, while Romano himself has also previously said that the Gunners will be one to watch in this story.There is perhaps a more detailed explanation below, with Sky Sports’ Dharmesh Sheth explaining that Arsenal have been waiting in the background in case Barca can’t get the deal done…"Arsenal have been waiting in the background" ??Could Arsenal challenge Barcelona to the singing of Julian Alvarez? ??? pic.twitter.com/weWBDV8f1o— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 17, 2026Our understanding, meanwhile, is that Arsenal are keen on Alvarez and could be in a good position due to Atletico not being keen to sell to their La Liga rivals.The challenge for now, however, is convincing the former Manchester City forward to come to the Emirates Stadium when his preferred choice remains Barcelona.Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustIt will be interesting to see if the situation changes, and if Alvarez perhaps pushes to leave Atletico, whether it’s for another Spanish club or a Premier League club.That could perhaps convince his current employers to accept a reasonable offer and take it as a positive that he hasn’t gone and strengthened one of their rivals.More Stories / Latest News“Started discussing…” – Arsenal given possible positive Julian Alvarez transfer update from Fabrizio RomanoJul 23 2026, 8:57Fabrizio Romano doubles down on Liverpool’s “top top top target” despite doubtersJul 23 2026, 8:32“Welcome to Arsenal” – New signing image leaked ahead of official announcementJul 23 2026, 7:47Do Arsenal need Julian Alvarez?Barcelona could certainly do with Alvarez as a replacement for the departing Robert Lewandowski, but do Arsenal really need to be splashing the cash on a striker again this summer?The reigning Premier League champions brought in Viktor Gyokeres this time last year, and he helped fire the club to the title in his first season.PlayerGamesGoalsJulian Alvarez4920Viktor Gyokeres5521As the stats above show, Gyokeres actually scored more goals in all competitions than Alvarez last season, though he did also play slightly more games.Overall, though, considering how expensive Alvarez would be, it doesn’t look like he’d be enough of an upgrade, so perhaps AFC would be better off focusing on strengthening other areas, such as attacking midfield, to improve the quality of service to Gyokeres.The post “Started discussing…” – Arsenal given possible positive Julian Alvarez transfer update from Fabrizio Romano appeared first on CaughtOffside.