Despite Arsenal's interest in Viktor Gyokeres, the club are not guaranteed to land the Swedish international this summer. There are plenty of suitors for the Sporting CP striker, and the Gunners may indeed choose to look elsewhere.
Mikel Arteta plans to insist on being backed this summer and does not want to be left short in any department. That said, it is widely agreed that the centre-forward role is a key component in ensuring Arsenal have enough firepower to take their efforts at winning titles next season to the next level.
There are potential alternatives that the club could pursue with Gyokeres, who is believed to high on the list of sporting director Andrea Berta, is not attainable this summer. With that in mind, football.london has collated three potential options the Gunners could look to instead.
Benjamin Sesko
A target from 2024, Arsenal missed out on the chance to sign Benjamin Sesko after he decided to stay with RB Leipzig for another season and sign a new deal, removing the old release clause of around £50million.
While that clause is thought to have increased, Leipzig’s failure to qualify for European competition means that the Slovenian international is now more likely to depart. Arsenal’s interest has persisted football.london understands but he is not perhaps top of the list anymore.
He has returned 13 goals and five assists this Bundesliga season, one less than in the previous campaign. However, Leipzig overall have been far poorer, perhaps giving some context—particularly as their creativity has dropped considerably.
Hugo Ekitike
The young Frenchman is a very interesting option for Arsenal and has become perhaps a more valid alternative this season, despite being known about for some time prior to his move to Frankfurt. After the exit of Omar Marmoush, emphasis fell on the forward to take the reins, and he has done so in style.
Twenty-three goals and assists in 15 games this season for the German side is quite the return for the club. It is the sheer volume of chances that he creates, too, ranking in the 94th percentile for shot-creating actions for forwards in Europe’s top five leagues with 3.5 per 90.
Ollie Watkins
Lastly is an option the club has already explored once which is the England international and natural striker Ollie Watkins. Having seen a January bid of £40million plus add-ons rejected, the club could return this summer with less time remaining on his deal.
The 29-year-old still scored 16 Premier League goals and added eight assists on top while playing under Unai Emery this season with minutes more restricted due to the presence of both Jhon Duran and Marcus Rashford. Watkins would bring an immediate guarantee of league experience while perhaps not costing the astronomical fee of other potential candidates.
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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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