Andrea Berta is in charge of Arsenal transfer strategy.Andrea Berta is in charge of Arsenal transfer strategy.
Andrea Berta is in charge of Arsenal transfer strategy. | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal are in the market for a marquee striker signing and could be about to get it.
Andrea Berta looks to be cooking up a storm at Arsenal HQ before the current Premier League season has even ended. If the latest transfer rumours are true, the technical director could be about to win the Gunners the Premier League next term.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been heavily linked with transfer interest in Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi and reports last week suggested that is now effectively a done deal with personal terms agreed and a release clause about to be activated. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano even gave that move his trademark ‘here we go’ treatment.
Zubimendi will bolster the Arsenal midfield, especially with Thomas Partey and Jorginho out of contract this summer, but is not the blinding gap that needs filling. That remains in the striker position.
Arsenal fell apart in the Premier League title race this season and have currently scored a eye-watering fewer 17 goals than Liverpool. With 14 draws to their name, six more than their Merseyside rivals, it’s quite simple what has gone wrong in 2025. A lack of goals.
Viktor Gyokeres should be number one target for Andrea Berta
Several players have been linked with a move to Arsenal to solve that problem. Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak has long been touted as the ideal option with his Thierry Henry-esque style of play. There’s no doubt the Swede would slot right into the Gunners side but that was never a realistic move given how well Newcastle United are playing right now.
Talented Ipswich Town forward Liam Delap is another option but, while he would be a major coup, is still wet behind the ears and not ready to be the team’s number one. There’s also Brentford man Yoane Wissa but it’s unlikely he has the physicality to change from the Brentford to Arsenal system while any move for the prolific Victor Osimhen would come with a huge fee and unwanted transfer debacle.
The ideal candidate is Viktor Gyokeres. The Sporting CP talisman seems destined for the Premier League having outgrown the Liga Portugal and, having only ever played in the Championship in the UK, must harbour ambitions for the Premier League.
While there’s a risk that any player moving from a league on the continent to the Premier League struggled with the change, Gyokeres has all the hallmarks of being able to perform in any situation. His 52 goals this season is a truly phenomenal achievement and somehow betters the 43 scored in the last campaign.
Sporting CP star is ‘goalscoring monster’ destined for Premier League
The 26-year-old is truly a goalscoring monster. Sure, the Liga Portugal may not offer the most frightening of defences, but he bagged five in nine Europa League appearances last term and has been prolific in the Champions League this time around. He has six goals in eight Champions League outings this season, including a hat-trick against Manchester City.
Gyokeres is fixture proof and tournament proof. Former Swansea City and Coventry City man Jake Bidwell shared his opinion of the player to the MEN in quotes that will be music to the ears of Arsenal fans. The defender talks about the player’s dedication and physicality, two key skills to make a seamless transition to the top flight.
Bidwell said: “If you’d told me then he would have been banging in goals in the Champions League in three or four years’ time I would have found it hard to believe. He joined Coventry on loan and then signed for them permanently. All the lads have said when he came back in the summer after signing permanently, he was a different animal.
“He had been working out in the gym all summer, and it was almost like he was a different man. He was still young at the time and growing into himself but the main thing was his belief grew from there.
“With the way he plays as well, with his aggression, the two (qualities) go hand in hand with how well he has done. He all of a sudden realised how quick and strong he was and had the confidence to use it and mixed with the aggression, it’s made him pretty unstoppable.”
Viktor Gyokeres ‘sold’ on Arsenal and Mikel Arteta project
If Arsenal had an extra 38 league goals this season - the tally already reached by Gyokeres - there’s no question that the Premier League would be coming to the Emirates Stadium. Luckily, it appears as if Berta has pushed hard and pushed early to make the Sporting man a Gunner.
Gyokeres is also said to have his heart set on the Emirates Stadium, despite claims of a potential reunion with former Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. A Bola claim that the Arsenal contract offer is worth £7 million after tax and that Berta has hooked the player in ‘emotionally and even financially’.
In other news, Real Madrid set aside €120m as they 'eye' double Arsenal raid that could derail Mikel Arteta's future plans.
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