Arsenal's Title Defence: The Case for Julian Alvarez

Arsenal already look like champions playing with a champion’s swagger. But in Gary Neville’s eyes, one more signing would turn them into something even more ruthless.

Champions League winners.

That is the scale of the claim from the Sky Sports pundit, who believes Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez is the missing piece in Mikel Arteta’s puzzle.

A bit of magic up front

Arsenal have opened their title defence with intent. A statement Community Shield win over Manchester City, followed by a ruthless 3-0 dismantling of newly-promoted Coventry, has only fuelled the belief that Arteta’s side are built to dominate again.

Neville, though, sees another gear.

“What a squad [Mikel Arteta] has built,” he said. “If he puts another forward into that, if they could get Julian Alvarez somehow, that would light this place up as you'd have a world-class striker to go with all the world-class defenders and midfielders.

“They wouldn't just become Premier League title winners they'd go the next step and win a Champions League. It's a massive 10 days. He needs a bit of magic up front - someone that can win a game for you when you don't play well.”

Arsenal are not alone in admiring Alvarez. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are also monitoring the Argentina international, who is currently at Atletico. Their CEO, Miguel Angel Gil, has already drawn a hard line, saying earlier in the summer they do not want to sell and would not even accept £170m for the forward.

Neville’s stance? Test that resolve. Push. Because he believes Alvarez is the type of signing that changes ceilings, not just squads.

Arteta’s focus and the right-side reboot

Arteta, speaking after the Coventry win, kept his feet planted firmly on the training ground rather than the transfer market.

“The main focus has to be to improve our players and the connection between them,” he stressed, pointing out how rarely Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Ben White actually played together down the right last season because of injuries.

That trio looked sharp again. The patterns, the understanding, the angles – all returning. Arteta clearly feels there is still plenty of growth left in what he already has.

Neville does not disagree. He just thinks Odegaard, in particular, is one elite striker away from becoming even more devastating.

“He [Odegaard] is exceptional. If there was an Ian Wright-type player up front for Arsenal who makes those short runs he'd be even better,” Neville said.

“As [Kai] Havertz and [Viktor] Gyokeres always come to the ball, Odegaard has to play possession rather than playing the slip passes. If Arsenal were to sign Julian Alvarez then he'd go up a level as it would be perfect for the style of play.”

The argument is simple: Arsenal’s captain is already pulling strings. Give him a runner who lives on the shoulder, and those passes that currently recycle possession could start slicing defences apart.

Carragher: World-class edge still missing

Jamie Carragher sees the same gap, even as he praises Arsenal’s evolution.

“I still think Arsenal lack a world-class player in the front four,” he said. “About two years ago I thought Saka and Odegaard would make that next step. For whatever reason it's not happened due to injuries or Arsenal not being at their best.

“Those two were close to getting to the levels shown by Man City and Liverpool players, like [Kevin] De Bruyne and [Erling] Haaland or [Mohamed] Salah and [Sadio] Mane. They took their teams to the title.

“Arsenal won the league without [Saka and Odegaard] doing it. They did it by having a great defence and goalkeeper. But I still think Saka and Odegaard can get back to where they were a couple of years ago.”

Carragher’s view is that the real leap might come from within rather than from a blockbuster arrival.

“The psychological factor of being champions now will take this Arsenal team to another level rather than buying a superstar player,” he added.

So while Neville bangs the drum for Alvarez, Carragher leans towards growth from Saka and Odegaard, powered by the belief that comes with finally getting over the line domestically.

Odegaard, Tzolis and a refreshed Arsenal attack

On the pitch, the signs of an attacking refresh are already obvious.

At the Emirates, Coventry were swept aside by a front line that looked sharper, quicker and more unpredictable than much of last season. Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz highlighted two names driving that change: Christos Tzolis and Odegaard.

Vinicius Jr and Morgan Rogers dominated much of the pre-season transfer chatter around Arsenal, but Tzolis is quickly forcing his way into the conversation. The winger arrived on the left, started quietly for five minutes, then ripped the game open.

A flurry of two shots and two chances created in four minutes turned a flat spell into a frenzy. He pressed high, won the ball for one goal, then delivered the cross for Saka to score another. A livewire, exactly the sort of profile Arsenal fans love.

Odegaard, though, remains the heartbeat. He followed his stunning Community Shield display with his first league goal of the season, already matching last year’s tally after a campaign wrecked by injuries that saw him miss 30 matches in all competitions.

This was only the second time since December 2024 that Saka, Odegaard and Havertz had started together. All three scored against Coventry. All three looked liberated.

Odegaard, in this form, feels like a new signing. With three open-play goals already on the board for Arsenal, the attack looks re-energised, more varied and less predictable.

The question now hangs over the final days of the window: does Arteta ride this momentum with what he has, trusting Saka, Odegaard and Tzolis to carry the load, or does Arsenal try to blow the market open and go after Alvarez – the kind of move that, as Neville insists, could turn a title defence into a European coronation?