Julian Alvarez was booed by Atletico Madrid supporters on Sunday after all the transfer window noise around him - does that mean a move to Barcelona or Arsenal is any closer?
The Argentine forward cut a disappointed figure when his own fans turned on him during Atleti's 2-2 draw with Villarreal.
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And with Arsenal and Barcelona circling ahead of the September 1 deadline, what will happen now? Here is a state of play about the forward's future...
What happened with Alvarez on Sunday?
Alvarez played his first Atletico Madrid match on Sunday after revealing his desire to leave the club during the World Cup.
The Argentine striker wants to leave Diego Simeone's side to join Barcelona. However, Arsenal are also interested in bringing the former Man City striker back to the Premier League.
Barcelona want Alvarez but earlier this summer, Atletico accused the Catalan club of building a "relentless smear campaign" regarding the forward.
"Over the past few months, we've been subjected to a relentless smear campaign against one of our players," wrote Atleti on X.
"Calculated leaks, fake news, constant disrespect, the culé version of the propaganda machine inventing little stories, phone calls before head-to-head clashes.
"But of course, it would never occur to us either to have the vice president of referees on the payroll or to rely on political favours to register players. Respect and values."
With Alvarez wanting to join one of Atleti's closest rivals, the forward was greeted by whistles, boos and jeers from the Atletico Madrid fans on his return to action for the club.
His named was booed as the Atleti team was read out - and Alvarez was sat on the substitutes bench when the first jeers of the afternoon were made. They continued when Alvarez entered the pitch on the 66th minute.
After the game, the Argentina international left the field on his own after the 2-2 home league draw against Villarreal, while his team-mates stayed behind to applaud the fans.
Asked about the situation, Simeone said in his post-match press conference: "People at the club told me that the club decided he shouldn't be near the stands and the fans.
"The decision was made by the club to keep him away and separate him from the rest of the team, so he would come to the locker room instead."
Does this raise Arsenal's chances of signing him?
Just because Alvarez was booed by his own Atletico supporters on Sunday, does not mean Arsenal fans should get excited yet.
Signing the Argentina striker - in what would arguably be the coup of the window - still looks very unlikely to happen before the deadline.
That is because of several obstacles still in their way; primarily the player's heart being set on a move to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid still refusing to sell him with just over a week to go.
Regardless of the feelings of Atletico fans, the club are digging their heels in, insisting they do not want to sell him to any club; certainly not to Barca and not the Premier League champions nor PSG either.
Arsenal will not completely give up - the door will always be open to a deal from their end right up until September 1 - but until they get an indication that Alvarez has shifted his thinking away from the Nou Camp, there is not much more Andrea Berta and Mikel Arteta can do.
Sky Sports News reported in July that Alvarez's family want to stay in Spain and that remains the case. They are happy and settled and the player's dream has long been to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Lionel Messi and star for Barca.
There is just over a week of the window remaining and anything can happen, but Barcelona will not give up either and it cannot be ruled out that they will not make another push to test Atletico's resolve - which has, until now, held firm.
Do Arsenal need Alvarez?
Arsenal are happy with their squad and showed in their resounding 3-0 opening day win over Coventry that they are in healthy place.
They clearly are now in a position in which signing only the very best will improve on what they have got. Alvarez is that and there are not many others on the market that come close.
However, Gary Neville feels Arsenal getting Alvarez would make them Champions League winners this season. Jamie Carragher feels the Gunners are one stardust signing away from becoming Kings of Europe.
"What a squad [Mikel Arteta] has built," said Neville. "If he puts another forward into that, if they could get Julian Alvarez somehow, that would light this place up as you'd have a world-class striker to go with all the world-class defenders and midfielders.
"They wouldn't just become Premier League title winners they'd go the next step and win a Champions League. It's a massive [few] days [in the transfer window]. He needs a bit of magic up front - someone that can win a game for you when you don't play well."
For the Premier League, Arsenal have shown they are already ahead of their rivals with an opening night victory, with summer signing Christos Tzolis and Martin Odegaard - who missed 30 matches last season - adding another dimension to Arsenal's attack.
Meanwhile, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham all dropped points over the course of the first weekend, while Enzo Maresca admitted his Man City team - who were unconvincing in their late comeback win over Bournemouth - are still a "work in progress."
Arsenal could also move for a left-sided forward - which Alvarez is not - before the transfer deadline, if Gabriel Martinelli moves on this summer.
The Brazilian has been left out of Arsenal's last two matchday squads and has one year left on his deal - plus there is interest from Galatasaray and Saudi Arabia.
Arsenal could also let Gabriel Jesus leave this summer - but will not do so unless a replacement, such as Alvarez, is lined up.
So if Alvarez is unattainable - do Arsenal move elsewhere, or perhaps even not move for a forward at all? Despite being ahead of their rivals, the Premier League champions still face a big final week in the transfer window.
