Mikel Arteta plays down Julian Alvarez transfer talk as Arsenal boss leaves deadline day business to ‘people upstairs’

Arteta has remained tight-lipped regarding the club's reported pursuit of Alvarez as the summer transfer window enters its final hours. Despite intense speculation linking the Argentine star with a move to North London, Arteta claimed to be largely unaware of the latest developments behind the scenes.

When asked directly about the possibility of signing the 26-year-old, Arteta was quick to delegate responsibility to the club's recruitment team. "I don't know. That's for the people upstairs," he told Sky Sports. "I've been disconnected for a day because I don't want anything related to that. My focus has to be on the game."

Regardless of the rumors surrounding Alvarez, Arteta has made it clear that the club's business in the transfer market is not yet finished as the Gunners boss shifted his focus toward the impending deadline. Arteta emphasized that the North London side are still looking to add quality to a squad that is already showing significant signs of tactical maturity and resilience away from home.

When asked directly about the possibility of further arrivals before the deadline, Arteta was transparent about the club's intentions to strengthen. "As I said, we’re trying to improve the squad - until tomorrow night we’re going to try to do that," Arteta said on the club's official website.

The need for reinforcements has been highlighted by recent fitness issues within the defensive ranks, specifically the absence of Jurrien Timber. Arteta acknowledged that the margin for error is slim, and the club felt compelled to act in certain areas to avoid a crisis.

"It depends if everybody’s fit or not. We can talk about today, but it might change," Arteta explained. "We knew that if we had an injury on the backline with Jurrien out, we'd be in big trouble - so we had to do Ezri [Konsa]. Today, [Cristhian] Mosquera could not continue, so we know the depth has to be really big when we’re fighting for four competitions in the manner that we play as well - so we’re going to try to do that."

Arsenal are in a race against time to land an elite striker following the departures of Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. While the Gunners have spent the entire window chasing their primary target, a steep €150 million price tag set by Atletico for Alvarez remains a major sticking point. Arteta’s blunt dismissal of the rumours may well be a tactical smoke screen, but the reality of the situation will become clear very shortly as the transfer window draws to a dramatic close across Europe’s major leagues. With the funds from the Martinelli and Jesus sales available, the expectation is that Arsenal will remain active until the very end.