As of the 22nd of July 2025, Fabrizio Romano gave the ‘here we go’ for The Swedish forward. With the final agreed fee of 63 million euros with an additional 10 million in add ons, his signature was secured in time for a cameo appearance on the summer tour of the Far East. For the majority, there has been massive excitement amongst the Arsenal fans regarding the signing. However, some fans remain unsure on how successful the talisman will be. This article will explore the different possibilities of the deal.
The 27 year old striker is arriving from Sporting CP with 54 goals and 12 assists, a really impressive profile. This attracted interest from clubs across Europe, with the mighty Swede picking the red side of North London. With an impressive past in the championship with Coventry, the centre forward looks to recreate that form with the gunners in the top flight. With all this considered, there is still a segregation amongst Arsenal fans regarding the Swede.
One of the main arguments against the 27 year old would be track records from previous Liga Portugal transitions. Most recently, the lack lustre Uruguayan Darwin Nunez signing for Liverpool from Benfica in the Summer 2022 window and whilst the most famous arrival from the Primeira Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Sporting CP, can be used as evidence that you can find players of the absolute highest level from Portugal, is it the exception to the rule.
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Beyond Ronaldo, there have been a number of successful moves directly from Portugal to the Premier League. Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandez, and Nani followed the same route as CR7 to Manchester United whilst Ruben Dias and ‘keeper Ederson both made the journey from Benfica to the Blue half of Manchester. Nenamja Matic, Ricardo Carvalho and Luiz Diaz have all had great EPL careers having moved from the Primeira League and so it’s safe to say that signings from Portuguese football can definitely work. to counter this you could look at the likes of Deco, Quaresma, Fabio Vieira and Bebe as examples of those who came from Portugal, either directly or via other countries, who did not set the world alight during their time in the EPL.
The conclusion here is fairly obvious! Some transfers work, others do not. Previous form can be irrelevant or it can be an indicator of great things to come. Two Arsenal greats, Patrick Vieira and Manu Petit, both arrived unheralded whilst one of the Arsenal’s most successful imports and best ever players, Denis Bergkamp, arrived on the back of two very average domestic seasons in Italy. So let’s just give Viktor our full support, hope that he clicks with Kai and along with the other summer signings propels us to our first League title since 2004 and possibly our first ever European Cup.
Image courtesy of Reuters