Is £130m Alvarez the Better Choice Over Gyokeres? Yes, but Arsenal Will Miss Key Aspects of Their Current Striker’s Play

JULIAN ALVAREZ could be the final piece of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal jigsaw, but the stats suggest Viktor Gyokeres would leave some pretty big boots to fill.

The Gunners are ready to make a move for the and star in the final week of the transfer window if they get encouragement from either the player or his club that a deal can actually be done.

Although Alvarez is said to prefer a move to Barcelona, Atletico have strongly resisted the idea of selling him to their rivals – report The Athletic .

That potentially leaves the door open for a move to Arsenal, with suggesting that they could even throw Gyokeres in as part of a sensational player plus cash offer.

The Gunners are prepared to go beyond their club-record £105million fee that they paid to sign from West Ham in 2023, with Atletico reportedly wanting as much as £130m to even consider selling their star man.

Alvarez was booed yesterday when his name was read out before Atletico’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal and was jeered again when he came on as a 66th-minute substitute.

That backlash could yet force Atletico to soften their stance – particularly with reports in Spain suggesting Alvarez’s position on only wanting is beginning to change.

The former man is still hoping for that dream move, but crucially, he is no longer thought to be completely closing the door on a return to the Premier League.

certainly believes Alvarez would take the Gunners, and indeed captain ‘s game, to another level.

After Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Coventry on Friday night, eight-time Premier League winner Neville told Sky Sports : “What a squad [Mikel Arteta] has built. If he puts another forward into that, if they could get Julian Alvarez somehow, that would light this place up as you’d have a world-class striker to go with all the world-class defenders and midfielders.

“They wouldn’t just become Premier League title winners they’d go the next step and win a . He needs a bit of magic up front – someone that can win a game for you when you don’t play well.

“Odegaard is exceptional. If there was an Ian Wright-type player up front for who makes those short runs he’d be even better.

“As [Kai] Havertz and [Viktor] Gyokeres always come to the ball, Odegaard has to play possession rather than playing the slip passes. If Arsenal were to sign Julian Alvarez then he’d go up a level as it would be perfect for the style of play.”

There is certainly an argument for that as Alvarez is more creative than Gyokeres, registering ten assists last season compared with the Swede’s three.

His 127 minutes per goal or assist also beats Gyokeres’ 145, but that is where the idea of Alvarez being a straightforward upgrade starts to become a little more complicated.

Gyokeres scored 21 goals in 3,481 minutes, while Alvarez managed 20 in 3,549 minutes – meaning the Arsenal man was more prolific in terms of minutes per goal — 165.7 compared with Alvarez’s 190.5.

Gyokeres, who only signed for Arsenal last summer for £55m from Sporting Lisbon, also had a superior shot conversion rate, scoring with 22.6 per cent of his efforts compared with Alvarez’s 15.9 per cent.

There was a period between December and February when Alvarez went 11 games without scoring – something which clearly damaged his goals-per-minute and conversion rate numbers.

The idea that Alvarez simply lives in the space behind defenders is also not quite the complete picture.

Although he can make clever runs in behind, Alvarez also likes to come towards the ball and get involved in build-up play – something he showed with Argentina at the World Cup when he often dropped deeper to allow to stay higher up the pitch.

That helps explain why his passing accuracy is a whopping 82.8 per cent compared with Gyokeres’ 63.8 per cent.

In that sense, Alvarez can be more of a Harry Kane-style striker – dropping deep, linking play and dragging defenders around, while having the ability to get on the end of things too.

His low centre of gravity also makes him incredibly difficult to knock off the ball and helps explain why he completed 65 dribbles last season compared with just 13 for Gyokeres.

But if Alvarez does come with Gyokeres heading in the other direction, what Arsenal would lose is equally important.

Gyokeres is 6ft 2in, while Alvarez is only 5ft 7in – a physical difference that is reflected in their aerial numbers.

Gyokeres won 44 aerial duels compared with just 13 for Alvarez.

The Swede also won considerably more fouls – 54 to 32 – as his power and physicality makes him a nightmare for defenders.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is possession won in the final third.

Alvarez has a reputation as a pressing monster, but Gyokeres actually won more possession in the final third last season – 34 times compared with Alvarez’s 31.

Gyokeres also recorded more touches in the opposition box – 219 to Alvarez’s 198.

Alvarez did, however, take more shots – 126 to Gyokeres’ 93 – largely because of the way he becomes involved in more phases of the attack by dropping deep.

So, Neville’s prediction that Alvarez would be the perfect fit is not necessarily wrong.

However, the statistics suggest it isn’t quite as simple as swapping one striker for another and watching Arsenal improve across the board.

Arteta could give Alvarez a slightly different role, asking him to prioritise making more runs beyond the defence.

If that happens, Alvarez’s movement could indeed take the Gunners up another level – as Neville eluded to.

But it would also mean sacrificing the aerial threat, physical presence and penalty-box dominance that Gyokeres brings.

Arteta’s caveat to that could be that he also has Havertz, who brings the same qualities.

Alvarez, on the other hand, would give Arsenal something different – a more rounded footballer who offers more creativity.

But Gyokeres was the more efficient goalscorer last season and provides qualities Alvarez simply does not possess.

The numbers, therefore, suggest Alvarez is an upgrade in some ways, rather than the complete upgrade many expect.

For Arsenal, the question is whether Arteta values what Alvarez adds more than what he would lose by replacing Gyokeres.

With just eight days of the transfer window left, that could be the £130m question which decides whether the Gunners make one final blockbuster move.