There have been doubts over the availability of Julian Alvarez ahead of Atletico Madrid against Arsenal due to a recent fitness problems
Julian Alvarez has confirmed he’s set to feature for Atletico Madrid against Arsenal in a major blow for the Gunners.
The Argentina international striker has recently been nursing a muscle problem but has now made it clear he’ll be available on Wednesday evening.
He said on Monday when quizzed on his fitness: “I’m at 100 per cent.”
Alvarez, formerly of Manchester City, has not played a single minute of Atletico’s past four La Liga matches.
He picked up an issue in the Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Sociedad, in which he scored, and was then left out of the squad for the 3-2 defeat at Elche last week.
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On Saturday, he was back in the Atletico squad but was mysteriously an unused substitute in the 3-2 home triumph over Athletic Club.
His condition and future has been a hot topic in Spain in the past week as Barcelona are working on a summer transfer.
Arsenal too are interested but Atletico chiefs are also working on the prospect of tying down Alvarez to a new contract at the Wanda Metropolitano.
At the end of last week, reports in Spain speculated that Alvarez had sent family members to Catalonia to hunt for a new property ahead of a potential switch to Camp Nou, however, those claims have since been described as nonsense by his agent.
Alvarez, who recently declared after the Champions League win over Tottenham that he couldn’t guarantee he’d been staying put this summer, has grown tired of rumours linking him with Barcelona and is not willing to discuss the topic any further.
He added: “I can’t keep coming out all the time to clarify or deny things. I don’t give importance to what’s said on social media because it snowballs, so I focus on what I can do on the pitch.
“I try not to give it much importance because something comes out every week. I don’t waste energy on that, I focus on these matches and on doing my best for the team.”
The 26-year-old has scored 19 goals and registered nine assists so far this season in all competitions having made 47 appearances.
Alexander Sorloth, who struck twice on Saturday against Athletic, is also available to face the Gunners despite suffering from cramp last weekend.
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