‘He’s our best player’ – Diego Simeone fires final transfer warning to Arsenal over Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez

DIEGO SIMEONE is sticking to his guns as he doubles down on keeping Julian Alvarez at Atletico Madrid. The LaLiga boss, 56, left little room for Arsenal fans hoping to secure the Argentine forward this window. Diego Simeone admitted that Julian Alvarez is Atletico Madrid’s “best player” before their first LaLiga game Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The Argentine star revealed that he wishes to leave the club to fulfil his “dreams” Credit: Reuters Atleti are holding firm and refusing to sell, having already rejected a £130MILLION offer from Real Madrid earlier in the summer. Speaking ahead of their match against Malaga, Simeone said: “I still think along the same lines as I did the other day in Korea. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! Dream Team is back, free, and there’s £100,000 up for grabs! “We were talking as we always do, and I understand that he still needs a little more time to be in top form for Sunday. “He needs more training. He’s our BEST player, and we’re going to try to build a team around him, keeping his age group in mind.” The 26-year-old is not expected to appear in their first game of their league campaign at 8pm tonight at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Barcelona is said to be top of Alvarez’s destination wishlist, while Arsenal have been waiting in the wings. The Catalan titans made a significant offer earlier this summer, but Alvarez’s current club shut it down with little-to-no wiggle room. Nonetheless, with the departures of Ferran Torres to Paris Saint-Germain and Robert Lewandowski to the MLS, Barcelona need a replacement. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS If Alvarez stays put, Barca could pursue former Newcastle star Ayoze Perez. Meanwhile, Arsenal – the new Community Shield winners – have had a fair share of transfer wins and losses. Blockbuster signing Bruno Guimaraes started on his debut for the Gunners on Sunday, alongside newcomer Christos Tzolis. But it was two weeks ago that Vinicius Junior and 15-time European champions Real Madrid slammed the door in their face. Now it is a question of whether Arsenal will have more success with a different South American star. Alvarez has scored 49 goals for Atleti in 106 appearances since his arrival from Manchester City for £81.5million in 2024. His stint in the Premier League was littered with silverware; he picked up two Prem titles, as well as a Champions League trophy, an FA Cup, Super Cup, and Club World Cup under Pep Guardiola. Alvarez made the move to Man City in 2022 before picking up a handful of trophies Credit: Getty The 26-year-old lifted the 2022 World Cup in Qatar following a box office final versus France Credit: Getty But his whirlwind career began at South American giants River Plate before a box office move to City in 2022. And he has impressed on the international stage too, having picked up the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Copa America. But this summer, the much-admired ace admitted he wanted out to “fulfil my dream”. Social media has run riot with rumours and spats since Real and Atleti’s spat following the £130m knockback. Comment now