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Atletico Madrid are keen for the Julian Alvarez situation to be settled by Friday, effectively leaving the 26-year-old with a decision to make over his future.

If Alvarez pushes for a transfer to Arsenal, and the Premier League champions match a valuation Atletico consider acceptable, the Madrid club at least want enough time to line up replacements.

The Argentina forward has made it clear that his ultimate ambition is to join Barcelona, but Arsenal have continued working on the move, aware that Atletico are absolutely unwilling to do business with their La Liga rivals. That position was reinforced again in meetings this week aimed at bringing clarity to the matter.

Barcelona could alter that equation with a concrete offer worth around €150m (£128m), but there is a belief at both Atletico and Arsenal that the Spanish champions do not currently have the budget available to get close to that figure.

Arsenal's view throughout this saga has been that the circumstances could shift in their favour as the transfer window moves closer to its close.

One further advantage for Arsenal is that they are in a position to send attacking players in the opposite direction. Atletico manager Diego Simeone has already been pressing to add more strength to his forward line, and both Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus are seen as attractive options by the Madrid side.

There remains the possibility that Gyokeres — or even both players — along with a transfer fee, could be included in an offer, which would significantly ease the path to an agreement.

Alvarez's stance on a move to Arsenal is also understood to have softened, despite his preference to remain in Spain for lifestyle and family reasons, as well as because of the stature of a club such as Barcelona.

Even so, he has been informed that Arsenal would use him in his best position and build their attack around him, after a season in which Simeone deployed him in an unusual role.