Arsenal Transfer News Today: 'Difficult' Real Madrid battle as €100m plan revealed

15 May 2026 19:04 BST |
5 min read

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

All the latest Arsenal transfer news in one place, including updates on Julian Alvarez, Victor Valdepenas and Gabriel Martinelli.

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Exclusive: Arsenal’s Alvarez plan

FootballTransfers can reveal how Mikel Arteta is planning to use Julian Alvarez if Arsenal manage to sign the Atletico Madrid striker.

The Argentine is one of football’s most in-demand commodities this summer, but only a handful of clubs are able to meet Atleti’s hefty asking price of over €100 million. Arsenal are one of those clubs, and exploratory talks have taken place with Alvarez.

This may seem strange given that the Gunners spent big on Viktor Gyokeres last year. However, we can now reveal that Arsenal are not planning to use Alvarez as a central striker, at least not primarily. We understand that he is seen as a potential solution to the club’s problem on the left side of the attack.

“Difficult” Valdepenas battle

Eintracht Frankfurt are “desperate” to sign Real Madrid youngster Victor Valdepenas this summer, according to Sky Germany.

The Bundesliga side have stepped on the gas in a bid to get a deal done, but it is a “difficult” operation because there is “strong” competition for the defender’s signature. This competition is likely to be Arsenal.

The same outlet, as well as Fabrizio Romano, previously revealed that the Gunners are huge admirers of Valdepenas and are constantly scouting him with a view to a potential move.

Martinelli’s asking price

Arsenal have set an asking price of around €50m for Gabriel Martinelli, Fichajes claims.

The Brazil international is facing an uncertain future at the Emirates and has been widely tipped to depart this summer. Arsenal are known to be in the market for a more marquee player for Martinelli’s position.

As mentioned above, Arsenal believe that Alvarez could fill that role, while they have also been linked with numerous other potential options such as Bradley Barcola, Yan Diomande and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Barcelona are attentive to Martinelli’s situation.

Gordon warned off Bayern move

Another left-wing option for the Gunners is Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon, who has been urged to reconsider his desire to move to Bayern Munich.

The England star has agreed personal terms with the Bundesliga giants, who are looking for competition for Luis Diaz. Bayern are prepared to pay €60m for Gordon, but Newcastle are currently demanding up to €90m.

Danny Murphy believes that a move to Germany would be a mistake. “I like Anthony Gordon, he’s got great strengths and qualities,” he told eSPORTY.

“His consistency is a problem. He’s had that wonderful run in Europe this season, but a lot of penalties. This is his highest-scoring season. But when you look at where Munich are at, I don’t think he threatens the XI. He’s not on Diaz’s level.”

Fernandes fawns over Rice

Bruno Fernandes has revealed that he was keen for Man Utd to sign Declan Rice when he was leaving West Ham in 2023.

The England midfielder joined Arsenal in a club-record €116.6m deal that summer, but the Red Devils captain believes that his club should have been all over Rice.

“I admire him a lot as a person, first of all because I knew him from the Algarve when we were training together,” Fernandes told Joel Beya. “Obviously, I knew him already from West Ham and we all knew the qualities he had.

“I’ve always said I always thought that Rice was a player to play for Man Utd, I was really sad when he chose to go Arsenal. I didn’t know if there was an opportunity for him to come to Man Utd, but I always thought he’d be a perfect fit for our club.”

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