It's no secret that Arsenal are in the market for a striker this summer, with Viktor Gyokeres among the frontmen linked with a move to north London.
football.london understands sporting director Andrea Berta is an admirer of the Sporting CP star, who has scored 53 goals in 51 appearances this term. With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus suffering major injuries throughout the 2024/25 season, Mikel Arteta was left extremely lightweight up top and there is an acceptance that the Gunners need more firepower.
Gyokeres could well provide that and multiple reports in Portugal have gone as far as claiming that an agreement has already been reached between Arsenal and Sporting. The front page of Portuguese newspaper O Jogo on Monday printed the headline: "Swede on his way to Arsenal".
It is also claimed that the Gunners are set to pay £58.9million and now just need to agree personal terms. Manchester United have also been linked with Gyokeres but it appears their focus is on signing Matheus Cunha and Liam Delap from Wolves and Ipswich Town, respectively.
With Arsenal keen on signing a striker this summer, former England defender Stuart Pearce has warned the club that if they bring a player like Gyokeres to the Premier League, it won't necessarily mean instant results. Speaking on the Seaman Says podcast, via Betway, Pearce said: "I've found it many times before, people think it's easy to go out and buy a centre-forward that can get you 25 goals a year.
"It's the hardest thing in the world to do. Then the trouble is the likes of Chris Wood turns up, all of a sudden gets 20 goals a season [and people are like], 'well why didn’t we sign Chris Wood then?'. It’s just ridiculous, but that’s football.
"We talk about Arsenal bringing players in and recruitment, they’ve got the best two youngsters in European football in Saka and Lewis-Skelly that they bought through the academy system. So that's a real plus for Arsenal as well."
With the summer transfer window opening next month, it remains to be seen who Arsenal go out and buy. Gyokeres, who helped Sporting CP seal a second consecutive Primeira Liga title at the weekend, has said all options are on the table.
"It's football, I'm still here," the 26-year-old told Portuguese broadcaster Sport.TV, as per Record, after Sporting's title triumph. "I don't know what's going to happen. Nobody can predict the future."
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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