Simeone confirms Alvarez not for sale as Arsenal and Barcelona circle

Diego Simeone has ended the speculation over Julian Alvarez's future, confirming that Atletico Madrid have no intention of selling the Argentina striker this summer. Arsenal and Barcelona had both been linked with the forward before Deadline Day, but Atletico have made their position clear. Alvarez has spent two seasons at the Metropolitano and recently made public his desire to leave while on international duty with Argentina at the World Cup. That has not changed the club's stance. Club president Miguel Angel Gil Marin has already stated that Barcelona could only sign Alvarez by activating his €500 million release clause. Arsenal, meanwhile, would have to make the striker their all-time record signing. Simeone addressed the situation again on Saturday: "The situation is very clear, the club made a decision that Miguel Angel [Gil Marin] explained very well. From the sporting side, we are very happy to have a player like Julian, and from a sporting perspective we will help him to continue growing, to continue improving, and to give us back what he has given us over these two years, which was a great deal. We have some precedents, we already saw what happened with [Antoine] Griezmann, I don't see any other way than to work from a sporting perspective as we have to and try to help as we have done these past two years." With Alvarez looking out of reach and Vinicius Junior committing his future to Real Madrid, Arsenal would need an alternative if Mikel Arteta still wants to strengthen his forward line before the window shuts on September 1. Bradley Barcola remains an option, though Arsenal are only expected to move if Paris Saint-Germain lower their asking price to around €110m. Liverpool are currently considered favorites for the France international. The Gunners already have a strong attacking group, including new signing Christos Tzolis, so it is unclear whether they will make another addition before the deadline.