Arsenal and Chelsea given hope of signing Julian Alvarez after Atletico Madrid smash Tottenham

Julian Alvarez refused to rule out the possibility of a summer move away from Atletico Madrid after the emphatic Champions League victory over Tottenham.

Diego Simeone’s side all but secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 5-2 last-16 first-leg win over struggling Spurs.

Atletico raced into a 3-0 lead inside 15 minutes at the Metropolitano Stadium thanks to goals from Marcos Llorente, Antoine Griezmann and Alvarez.

The hosts’ dominance was as much to do with Tottenham’s dismal display than their own excellence, with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky making two mistakes before being subbed off after only 17 minutes.

His replacement, Tottenham No. 1 Guglielmo Vicario, conceded again minutes later but the visitors did at least get one goal back before half-through through Pedro Porro.

But any hopes of a stunning comeback were quickly dashed as Alvarez scored again to put Atletico Madrid 5-1 up.

Dominic Solanke scored Tottenham’s second late on but it was still a desperately disappointing night for Spurs, who are on the verge of a disastrous season.

Five straight Premier League defeats has left the north London side 16th in the table, just a point above the relegation zone with nine games remaining.

Tottenham sacked Thomas Frank last month but there are strong calls for his replacement Igor Tudor to also bite the bullet after losing his first four games in charge.

Alvarez praised Atletico’s dominant performance against Spurs before surprisingly hinting he could be on the move in the summer amid interest from the Premier League.

Arsenal and Chelsea have both been heavily linked with the Argentina international, who won back-to-back league titles at Manchester City before his £82m move to Spain in 2024.

Asked whether he would be at Atletico Madrid next season, Alvarez said: ‘I don’t know, I might be, or I might not. I’m happy. I’m thinking about the day to day.’

Simeone, meanwhile, urged his Atletico star to stay at the club ‘for many years’ after his side’s emphatic win over Tottenham.

‘He looks happy to me,’ Simeone said. ‘He’s scoring goals, if you look at the teams he’s been at [River Plate and Man City], Atletico is the team where he’s scored the most goals.

‘He looks committed, positive. There isn’t much difference between this season and last season in terms of the goals he’s scored.

‘Let’s hope he can stay for many years at Atletico Madrid, and we can keep building a team so that important players want to stay.’

The Gunners spent £64m to sign Viktor Gyokeres last summer and while he has started to be more prolific in front of goal – scoring 15 times in all competitions – there remain concerns over his all-round play.

Chelsea are believed to be interested in Alvarez despite Joao Pedro’s bright first season at Stamford Bridge following his £60m move from Brighton.

Alvarez has also been linked with a move to Atletico’s La Liga rivals Barcelona and it has been suggested that would be his favoured destination if he was to leave.

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has urged his former club to win the race to sign Alvarez, however, after being impressed by his spell at Manchester City.

‘For me, Alvarez would be a great addition to the squad,’ told Metro via BetMGM. ‘There will always be people coming and going in the summer because it’s a big squad and they can’t keep everyone happy.

‘But Alvarez would be a fantastic option to have with his pace and what we saw at Man City.

‘It was always going to be difficult for him playing with Erling Haaland there but when he did start and when he did play, he was always lively.

‘He’s a young man too, so if he’s available it’s a yes for me. We know how Arteta likes to work with young players to make them better so I think it would be a great addition, definitely.’

Before the second leg of the last-16 Champions League clash, Tottenham will look to ease their growing relegation fears with another tricky game against Liverpool at Anfield.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, return to La Liga action against Getafe sitting third in the table.

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