Gyokeres for Alvarez: Who Comes Out on Top in Arsenal and Atletico's Blockbuster Swap Deal?

Arsenal's determination to land Atlético Madrid's Julián Alvarez is so intense that the Gunners are reportedly willing to include last season's leading scorer Viktor Gyökeres in a part-exchange deal.

Arsenal's pursuit of Alvarez is well-documented. However, in a summer where the newly crowned Premier League champions have already shown reluctance to overpay for top targets regardless of their level of interest, the prospect of securing the 2026 World Cup finalist has always seemed remote.

Atlético have publicly maintained that their prized striker is unavailable, while reports indicate that a nine-figure fee would be required to prise the 25-year-old away from the Spanish capital. To help offset the substantial outlay, Arsenal are said to be "willing" to include Gyökeres in a player-plus-cash arrangement, according to The Times.

Such transactions are extremely uncommon. Even a standard transfer requires three parties to reach agreement — the buying club, the selling club, and the player himself — so introducing an additional player and his team of agents into the equation makes things considerably more complex.

While improbable, this kind of arrangement does carry certain benefits for several of the parties involved, though not necessarily the most obvious ones.

Winners

On the surface, Arsenal would appear to be the clearest beneficiary of this ambitious arrangement. Alvarez is a one-man pressing machine, capable of single-handedly driving his side forward with relentless movement both on and off the ball. Across the last two World Cups, no player has registered more high-intensity pressures in the opposition half. For an Arsenal team built on defensive solidity but occasionally lacking creativity in possession, the attraction is plain to see.

Not only would the Gunners land a player Mikel Arteta has long coveted, but they would also resolve the ongoing dilemma surrounding Gyökeres.

Despite becoming the club's first debutant since Alexis Sánchez to reach 20 goals across all competitions, the powerful Swede endured a disappointing season overall. A consistent lack of influence in matches against top-level opposition left Arteta frequently bemoaning Kai Havertz's persistent injury problems.

Gyökeres theoretically offers Arsenal a more physically imposing option than Alvarez, yet the bulky striker repeatedly struggled to hold the ball up effectively, leaving the team vulnerable to opposition pressing. His shortcomings, however, would be far less exposed at Atlético Madrid.

Gyokeres vs. Alvarez Stats Snapshot

Stats via Opta.

There is a reason why Gyökeres already feels like a natural fit for Atlético — Arsenal's sporting director Andrea Berta was the key figure behind his move to north London last summer, which also happened to be his first transfer window at the Emirates after departing the same role at Atlético.

In La Liga, where the quality gap between clubs is far more pronounced, Gyökeres would have considerably more chances to dominate weaker opposition than he encountered in the Premier League. If anything, Atlético could benefit from a more consistent domestic attacking presence than Alvarez has provided.

Despite an impressive Champions League run in which only Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane outscored Atlético's talisman, Alvarez actually had a subdued domestic campaign. Of his modest eight league goals, two came from the penalty spot and two from free kicks. Strikingly, three of his four open-play La Liga goals arrived in a single match against Rayo Vallecano, with the other being a late winner against a Real Oviedo side that would ultimately be relegated.

Losers

Of course, there remains a very real possibility that Arsenal could come to regret such a swap deal given Alvarez's aforementioned scoring record. One thing is clear, however — a move to the Emirates is far from the top of Alvarez's list of priorities.

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The Argentine attacker has made no secret of his desire to leave Atlético Madrid. While Barcelona were not directly mentioned during his high-profile transfer appeal at the World Cup group stage, it has been widely reported that the Catalan club represent his preferred destination. Nevertheless, Atlético's firm refusal to sell to a domestic rival could ultimately push Alvarez towards Arsenal.

It remains far from certain that any party would truly benefit from such a deal, yet there are likely to be plenty of losers regardless.