Emmanuel Petit names ‘powerful’ striker Arsenal could target instead of Julian Alvarez | Football

Emmanuel Petit has picked out Victor Osimhen as a potential option for Arsenal if their move for Julian Alvarez fails to get off the ground.

Arsenal have been working behind the scenes to strengthen their title-winning attack ahead of Tuesday’s transfer deadline, with Mikel Arteta desperate to bring in support and competition for Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz.

The Gunners have already seen Morgan Rogers turn them down to join Chelsea this summer, while Vinicius Junior snubbed a move to north London to extend his stay with Real Madrid.

The English champions have, though, completed deals for Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa, Christos Tzolis, Illan Meslier and Piero Hincapie in recent weeks.

With the clock ticking down on the transfer window, Atletico Madrid centre-forward Julian Alvarez has moved to the top of Arsenal’s wishlist as Arteta’s number one target.

For much of the summer, Alvarez has been angling for a move to Barcelona, but reports emanating out of Madrid on Wednesday claimed the Argentine had begun to seriously consider Arsenal as a serious possibility for the first time.

Atleti wasted little time in rejecting a €100million (£85.7million) offer from Barca for Alvarez last month and have made it clear they have no intention of selling to a direct rival.

‘He’s a beautiful player with great movement and intelligence. He’s got speed, technique, and vision,’ Petit told Oddschecker of the wantaway Atleti striker, formerly of Manchester City.

‘He can score many goals and provide assists. I love his movement.

‘It’s hard sometimes to get intelligent players who understand the DNA of the team. Arsenal have a proper DNA on the pitch, and when they buy top players, they have to fit into the system.

‘I think Alvarez would be perfect for Arsenal. The way he plays, the way he moves, the way he links up play, and he’s clinical when he gets to the edge of the box.’

Arsenal have been tentatively linked with Osimhen over the course of the transfer window, but Galatasaray are believed to have ruled out a move for the striker this summer.

Although Petit feels Osimhen lacks the ‘quality’ of Alvarez, he has no doubts that the Nigeria international would ‘bring something different’ with his physicality and ‘strong personality’.

‘A different player, not the same quality as Alvarez. He would bring a powerful presence up front,’ the ex-Arsenal and France midfielder said of Osimhen.

‘He’s fast, he’s a fighter, and he has a strong personality. He brings something different than Alvarez. They are two different options, but I like them both.’

Gyokeres finished his debut season at Arsenal with 21 goals to his name in all competitions following a £63.5million move from Sporting.

And while the 28-year-old Swede has faced some criticism for his overall level of performance, Petit is adamant he adds something ‘very important’ to Arteta’s attack.

‘Well, they won the Premier League with him, right? They reached the Champions League final with him, right? I think he has the quality to improve,’ the 1998 World Cup winner explained.

‘It was not easy with the expectations and the pressure on his shoulders.

‘When he came, people wanted him to score exactly the goals he used to score in Portugal. It’s not the same league, with all the respect I have for the Portuguese league.

‘He gives a 100 per cent on the pitch all the time. He’s not the best striker in the world, but he brings something very important for Arsenal.’

On Gyokeres, Petit went on: ‘He can score goals and improve his stats and assists, but the work he’s doing up front amazes me with how many runs he makes per game without receiving the ball.

‘I would chase another striker, but I would keep Gyokeres.

‘For me, Gyokeres is not the problem. [Gabriel] Jesus is the problem.’

Arsenal got their Premier League title defence off to a perfect start with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Frank Lampard’s newly promoted Coventry last Friday.

Arteta’s men will look to pick up where they left off against Aston Villa, who were thumped 4-0 away to Brighton in their season opener.

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