According to reports, Arsenal are ‘preparing a decisive attack’ for Viktor Gyokeres as they look to reach an agreement with Sporting Lisbon.
Gyokeres is second in our ranking of this year’s top scorers in Europe, as he has netted 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting Lisbon over the past two seasons.
27-year-old Gyokeres‘ remarkable goalscoring has seen him become a leading target for Arsenal as they scour the market for a new striker.
Benjamin Sesko and Ollie Watkins have also been mentioned as possible options, withthe Gunners crying out for a top-tier forward after being toothless in attack during the 2024/25 campaign.
Conflicting reports have emerged regarding Arsenal’s chase for a new striker, and it remains to be seen who is their actual priority target, though Gyokeres and Sesko have been most linked with the club in recent weeks.
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It does appear that the Gunners have had difficulties in negotiations over Gyokeres and Sesko. They have been in talks over these strikers, but they have work to do as Sporting Lisbon and RB Leipzig are refusing to budge on their demands.
Arsenal are seemingly losing patience, with a report on Friday morning claiming head coach Mikel Arteta wants a striker signed by July 19.
The Daily Mail’s Isaan Khan claimed: ‘The target laid out by Mikel Arteta is for a striker to be signed before Arsenal fly out to Singapore on July 19 for their pre-season tour of Asia.
‘So I would envisage a deal having either being made or very close to finalising in the week commencing July 14. That would allow the signing to properly bed in with the squad and learn Arteta’s comprehensive tactics playbook ahead of the new season.’
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He continued: ‘I understand that a striker will definitely be signed in this window, which will be a sigh of relief for Arsenal supporters who have been crying out for one since before last summer.
‘The names in the frame, as you will know by now unless you have been living on Mars, are Red Bull Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting CP and – further down the pecking order – Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa.’
Now, a report from Portuguese outlet O Jogo claims Arsenal are ‘preparing a decisive attack’ for Gyokeres, while A Bola have revealed that they have two ways to meet Sporting Lisbon’s asking price.
A Bola said: ‘Saturday’s A Bola explains how Arsenal could structure a deal, similar to what we explained (see below) a few days ago: ‘If someone comes to Sporting’s management with 80m, they can take the player anyway; if, for example, they only have 70m right away, then they can try to reach the target by including realistic bonuses that allow Sporting to have some security that in the end they will sell the Swedish international’s pass for the amount they considered fair this summer.’