Mikel Arteta contacts Julian Alvarez as Arsenal target another transfer win

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is reportedly making a personal effort to convince Julian Alvarez to join the club this summer, with the Gunners boss said to have contacted the Atletico Madrid striker directly. According to El Desmarque, Arteta has reached out to the World Cup winner as Arsenal look to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.

Alvarez has reportedly made it clear that he wants to leave Atletico Madrid this summer, although Barcelona remains his preferred destination. Atletico are said to want around £130 million for the Argentine and are not keen on selling him to a direct rival.

Arteta’s personal approach to transfers is not new, with previous conversations helping Arsenal secure the services of Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Odegaard influenced by Arteta’s call

Martin Odegaard initially joined Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid in 2021 before making the move permanent. At the time, Arsenal were struggling in the Premier League, but Arteta’s vision helped convince the Norwegian to choose the club.

Odegaard recalled their conversation in 2023, saying: “I spoke to Mikel Arteta on a Zoom call and he told me all about the project. At the time, Arsenal were not doing well. They were way down like 15th in the table, but that meeting… Honestly, I challenge anyone to come away from a meeting with Arteta and not believe everything he tells you. He is next level. It’s hard to explain. He’s passionate, he’s intense and sometimes, yeah, he’s a bit crazy. But when he speaks, you understand that whatever he says will happen, will happen.”

Odegaard also revealed that Arsenal supporters helped convince him, with messages from family, friends and even distant contacts encouraging him to move to north London.

Calafiori impressed by Arteta

Riccardo Calafiore was also influenced by a direct approach from Arteta before joining Arsenal from Bologna in 2024. The defender revealed that Arteta first contacted him by message before asking to call him.

“He first wrote to me and then said can I call you. It was so humble and so easy on the phone. He wanted to explain the situation and what they thought about me, what I could improve. He tried to convince me but I was already convinced. Not just because it is Arsenal but because it is Mikel.”

Zinchenko had already chosen Arteta

Oleksandr Zinchenko had a previous relationship with Arteta from their time at Manchester City. Arteta joined Guardiola’s coaching staff in 2016, the same year Zinchenko arrived at City.

The Ukrainian later made it clear that Arteta was the manager he would want to work under if he left City but remained in the Premier League. “I said to my circle, ‘If one day I’m going to leave City and I’m going to stay in the Premier League, it will be only one manager: Mikel Arteta,'” he told All Football in 2023.

Zinchenko also recalled Arteta’s role in convincing him, saying: “That’s what I said to him when he called me for the first time in that transfer window.” And the rest is history.

With Alvarez now on Arsenal’s radar, Arteta appears ready to use the same personal approach in an attempt to convince the Atletico Madrid forward to make the move to north London.