Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres for £63 million.
Andrea Berta’s top priority this summer was to add a new centre-forward to Mikel Arteta’s ranks, and after significant speculation linking Benjamin Sesko with a move to the Emirates, the sporting director settled on Gyokeres.
RB Leipzig were unwilling to lower their asking price for Sesko, while an agreement with Sporting for a reasonable fee was struck.
Gyokeres will become Arsenal’s fifth summer signing after Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Noni Madueke.
The prolific striker will be the eighth Swede to ever play for the North London club, and will hope to leave with the greatest legacy of them all.
With that said, here are all seven Swedish footballers to wear the Arsenal shirt.
Anders Limpar (1990-1994)
The first Swede to ever play for Arsenal was Anders Limpar, who arrived from Italian side Cremonese in the summer of 1990 for £1 million.
Enjoying a successful three-and-a-half-year stint at Highbury, Limpar made 116 appearances for the Gunners, netting 20 goals from midfield.
He was a key figure in Arsenal’s 1990/91 title-winning campaign and established himself as a fan favourite before leaving for Everton for £1.6 million in March 1994.
Stefan Schwarz (1994-1995)
Following the success of Limpar, fans were excited by the acquisition of another established Sweden international, Stefan Schwarz.
The defensive midfielder arrived from Benfica for £1.8 million in 1994, but departed after just one season in North London, after being left frustrated by manager George Graham’s defensive tactics.
Schwarz made 49 appearances for the Gunners in his one year in N5, and Arsenal still made a profit on him, selling him to Fiorentina for £2.5 million.
Freddie Ljungberg (1998-2007)
By far and away the most successful Swede to have played for Arsenal, Freddie Ljungberg left the Gunners as a club legend, having won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups.
Ljungberg was also involved in Arsenal’s run to the Champions League final in 2006, in his penultimate season at the club.
Arsene Wenger plucked the winger out of the Swedish top flight from Halmstads in 1998 for just £3 million, and he’d go on to make over 300 appearances in a red and white shirt, netting 72 goals.
Gyokeres will undoubtedly have watched Ljungberg growing up, and will be eager to replicate his level of influence in North London.
Rami Shaaban (2002-2004)
Signed from Swedish giants Djurgardens to deputise for David Seaman in 2002, Rami Shaaban was touted as a potential long-term replacement for the iconic goalkeeper.
However, after breaking his leg halfway through his first season at Highbury, the shot-stopper’s career at Arsenal stalled as Wenger moved to acquire Jens Lehmann when Seaman left.
Shaaban left the Gunners having made just five appearances across all competitions.
Sebastian Larsson (2004-2006)
A name many younger fans will remember for his spells at Birmingham City and Sunderland, Sebastian Larsson actually began his professional career at Arsenal and in the Hale End academy.
The Gunners scouted the winger whilst he was developing with his home town team IFK Eskilstuna in the summer of 2001.
Due to significant competition for places, Larsson was unable to break into the Arsenal first team, making just 12 appearances for the senior side before being sold to Birmingham after a successful loan spell in the West Midlands.
Kristoffer Olsson (2013-2014)
Like Larsson, Arsenal signed Kristoffer Olsson when he was a youngster, adding him to their academy from IFK Norrkoping.
He spent a few years in the youth set-up in North London, before making a solitary six-minute cameo for the first team in the League Cup in 2013.
Olsson left for FC Midtjylland in 2014 and went on to enjoy a respectable career in Sweden, Russia and Belgium.
Kim Kallstrom (2014)
Something of a cult figure at the Emirates, Wenger signed experienced midfielder Kim Kallstrom on loan for six months in January 2014, despite him arriving with a serious back injury.
The former Lyon man didn’t make his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt until late March of that year, and ended his temporary stint in N5 having featured in just four games.
The Gunners haven’t gone back into the market for a Swede since then until now, with the bizarre addition of Kallstrom perhaps scarring the club’s hierarchy.
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