Arteta phone call secured three Arsenal deals as Alvarez 'contacted'

Atletico Madrid ace Alvarez has made it clear he wants to move this summer but only has eyes for Barcelona. Diego Simeone's side will reportedly demand £130million for their player if he is to leave but aren't interested in selling to their direct rivals.

It isn't the first time Arteta has used a personal touch when recruiting a player to get a deal over the line. football.london breaks down several other confirmed cases in which the Arsenal chief's phone call tactics have played a key role in tying up transfers.

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was one such example in which Arteta personally reached out to seal the deal. The Norwegian was on the books at Real Madrid when he initially joined on loan in 2021 and Arteta's input was all the more crucial given the Gunners weren't at their most attractive five years ago.

Odegaard wrote for The Players' Tribune in 2023: "I spoke to Mikel Arteta on a Zoom call and he told me all about the project. At the time, Arsenal were not doing well. They were way down like 15th in the table, but that meeting... Honestly, I challenge anyone to come away from a meeting with Arteta and not believe everything he tells you.

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"He is next level. It's hard to explain. He’s passionate, he’s intense and sometimes, yeah, he’s a bit crazy. But when he speaks, you understand that whatever he says will happen, will happen."

Odegaard also revealed how the fans played their own role in his recruitment. He mentioned how family, friends and even more distant contacts were receiving messages on social media urging those people to tell Odegaard to join Arsenal

Clearly, it worked. That overwhelming encouragement in every facet of his life ultimately had its impact, it seems, and the skipper remains a key cog at the Emirates today.

Riccardo Calafiori was a man in demand when Arsenal reached out to Bologna regarding a move in 2024. Again, it was a conversation with Arteta prior to his move that pushed the Italian into being convinced his destiny was in north London.

Speaking to Football Focus soon after his arrival in north London, Calafiori said: "He first wrote to me and then said can I call you. It was so humble and so easy on the phone.

"He wanted to explain the situation and what they thought about me, what I could improve. He tried to convince me but I was already convinced. Not just because it is Arsenal but because it is Mikel."

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Arteta already held a personal relationship with Oleksandr Zinchenko from their time together at Manchester City. The Spaniard joined Pep Guardiola's coaching staff immediately after his retirement in 2016, the same summer Zinchenko moved to the Etihad.

Still a young prospect at the time, the Ukrainian spent roughly three years together with Arteta at City, albeit loaned out for periods of his time there. However, that spell still had an impact in showing Zinchenko Arteta's capability, which he exploited with a call to his old colleague.

"I said to my circle, 'If one day I'm going to leave City and I'm going to stay in the Premier League, it will be only one manager: Mikel Arteta,'" he told All Football in 2023.

Zinchenko, 29, is currently a free agent after his latest stint with Ajax came to an end in the summer. He spent the first half of last season on loan at Nottingham Forest before heading to Amsterdam, though neither move worked out as planned.