Ricardo Alvarez to join Arsenal

The president of Palermo has announced that Arsenal have already won the race to sign Argentinian left winger Ricardo Alvarez on a free transfer. The player's contract with the Argentine side Velez Sarsfield had expired in June.

The player - valued in the region of £10m - had been linked with several sides including Palermo, Roma, Tottenham and Valencia; however it seems that Arsenal have won the race for the talented 23 year old.

"We did have a concrete bid for Alvarez and had him in our grasp back in January," said the Palermo chief.

"Unfortunately, we didn’t complete the move in time, so we lost him to Arsenal.

"At this moment he has already signed for the Gunners."