€117m asking price
Arsenal’s missing piece? Julián Alvarez’s Man City numbers compared to Gyökeres & Havertz
©TM/IMAGO
Julián Alvarez’s future has developed into arguably the biggest transfer saga of the window and there’ll undoubtedly be more twists and turns before it’s resolved. Barcelona’s public pursuit of Alvarez irked Atlético Madrid and sparked several barbed social media posts and Real Madrid also got involved with a reported €150 million bid rejected. Atlético’s stance on Alvarez is crystal clear – they don’t want to sell their prized asset to a rival Spanish club. That has left the door open for Arsenal to potentially nab the Argentina international with the Gunners reportedly attempting to finalise a deal before pre-season.
Market Value
J. Alvarez
Centre-Forward
€100.00m
It’s understood that Atlético value Alvarez at €117m with Arsenal aiming to secure a deal for closer to €105m, but a compromise shouldn’t be overly difficult to achieve. Alvarez’s preference is to remain in Spain but due to Atletico’s position, the 26-year-old would be open to a return to England. Any potential deal for Alvarez would smash Arsenal’s transfer record and Mikel Arteta would secure his priority attacking talent. Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres shared the responsibility of leading the line for Arsenal last season and we’ve compared their stats to Alvarez’s from his two-and-a-half years at Manchester City.
Alvarez vs Havertz
As demonstrated by Arteta starting him in the Champions League final, Havertz was clearly the Arsenal manager’s first-choice striker. The German international has played in a variety of roles since joining from Chelsea, so that must be caveated when analysing his attacking output. Havertz is a supremely talented footballer with his link-up play amongst his strengths but he’s not a natural goalscorer.
The 27-year-old averages 0.42 goals per 90 minutes at Arsenal and 0.21 assists per 90, which equals 0.63 goal contributions per 90. Alvarez’s numbers at Man City outperform Havertz in all three categories and the Argentinian is a better goalscorer than Havertz but also has more to his game – his out of possession work is also elite.
Alvarez vs Gyökeres
Gyökeres received unfair criticism at points during his debut season at Arsenal and his goals also helped Arteta’s men win their first title in 22 years. Realistically, however, Gyökeres isn’t good enough to be Arsenal’s starting number nine, despite the title success clouding some supporters’ current views on the Swedish international. Gyökeres’ goal return of 21 last season was good and he has the exact same scoring rate as Alvarez at City of 0.54 goals per90.
It’s imperative to note that Gyökeres didn’t manage a single goal contribution against the top five sides in the Premier League last season and while his application is commendable, his all-round game leaves a lot to be desired. Alvarez’s goal contribution numbers at City are much higher than Gyökeres and he’s a better player now after his spell in Madrid. Therefore, you’d struggle to form a legitimate argument that Alvarez isn’t an upgrade on Gyökeres or Havertz.
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