Arsenal actually had a striker who once outscored Viktor Gyokeres, but he was sold for £1m

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Viktor Gyokeres is one name that has been uttered with regard to potential signings at Arsenal this summer.

The summer transfer window is open for a nine-day registration period before the window closes for the Club World Cup.

Arsenal aren’t participating in the competition, but the Gunners will be active in the transfer market, which reopens on June 16th until September 1st.

In his first summer as Arsenal’s sporting director, Andrea Berta will have a busy period to get Mikel Arteta’s squad in shape for the 2025/26 season.

There are already several targets on Berta’s list, including Sporting CP talisman Gyokeres, who is already being spoken about in the Premier League. 

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Chuba Akpom outscored Viktor Gyokeres in 2022/23

Arsenal are understood to have met with Gyokeres to sound out the possibility of acquiring the Sweden international on a permanent transfer.

Links to the 26-year-old need little explanation, as since joining Sporting in 2023, the striker has scored 97 goals, netting 54 times in the 2024/25 campaign.

Though Gyokeres’ clinical streak speaks for itself, it’s remarkable to note that only two years ago, the marksman was playing in the Championship.

What is even more remarkable about Gyokeres’ final season in the English top flight is that he didn’t end the season as the Championship’s top scorer, finishing second to a name familiar to Arsenal.

Hale End product Chuba Akpom outscored the Arsenal target in 2022/23, scoring 28 times for Middlesbrough while Gyokeres racked up 21 goals for Coventry City.

Though Neil Warnock believed Akpom’s season at Boro was a fluke, his success led him to a European transfer, just as it did Gyokeres. 

The Englishman signed for Ajax while the Swede put pen to paper at Sporting, and ever since, their careers have gone in opposite directions. 

How Akpom compares to Gyokeres since 2022/23 Championship high

In his debut season for Ajax, Akpom netted 11 goals in the Eredivisie, but his role was not secure, paving the way for him to sign for LOSC Lille on loan in February 2025.

Unfortunately for the Hale End graduate, the 29-year-old only found the net three times for Lille, who have the option to buy the striker if they wish.

While Akpom has been searching for form in the Netherlands and France following his free-scoring season in the Championship, Gyokeres has been on a different path.

The Swede has scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting since leaving Coventry, outscoring the forward that beat him to the 2022/23 Golden Boot by 71 goals.

Though Arsenal once had a forward in their ranks capable of outscoring Gyokeres, Arteta won’t be questioning Unai Emery about the £1m sale of Akpom in 2018 anytime soon.