Steven Gerrard reacts to Arsenal missing out on ‘perfect’ signing as pundit claims he was ‘never’ joining
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has cheekily admitted that he is “glad” that Arsenal failed to sign Julian Alvarez in the summer.
In the summer transfer window, Arsenal improved their squad with the signings of Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa, Piero Hincapie and Christos Tzolis.
However, the Gunners missed out on several leading targets, including Alvarez, Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Junior and Bradley Barcola.
Alvarez was mooted as a potential upgrade on Viktor Gyokeres, though he reportedly informed Arsenal that he did not want to join because he had his heart set on a move to FC Barcelona.
And Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has explained why Alvarez would have been the “perfect” addition for Mikel Arteta’s side.
“Julian Alvarez is the striker Arsenal need. Why? Because he knows the Premier League,” Petit told BOYLE Sports.
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“He’s such a talented player. He has great movement, great technical skills, and he would perfectly fit the DNA of this Arsenal team in how he plays one touch football.
“I really like everything about him as a player.
“But obviously he wants Barcelona, and if he didn’t leave Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window, do you really think he’s going to leave that club during the winter transfer window? I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
“I’m just glad he didn’t go to Arsenal…”
Gerrard, meanwhile, has defended Atletico Madrid for blocking Alvarez from joining Barcelona, while hae has commented on Arsenal’s interest.
“I understand his point of view, but Atletico Madrid don’t want to strengthen a rival and be a feeder club to the teams you can compete domestically with and in the Champions League, so you can understand it from a club point of view as well,” Gerrard said on TNT Sports.
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“I’m just glad he didn’t go to Arsenal, I’ll just leave that one there!”
Fellow former Liverpool player Steve McManaman went further, claiming Arsenal never had a chance of signing Alvarez in the summer.
“He was never going to go, as if he wants to go to Arsenal,” McManaman said.
“He wanted to go to Barcelona; he came out and said that, but they’re not going to strengthen a rival.
“Atletico Madrid paid £82million to Manchester City, he’s still got four years left on his contract. Let’s be honest, he’s got a cheek saying I want to leave and go to Barcelona when they are, apart from Real Madrid, your closest rivals.
“So it was imperative that Atletico Madrid stood their ground and said no but he has to prove it to the fans and his teammates that he’s fully invested back in the team.”
