Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP.
The Gunners had been working on a deal for the Swede for several weeks now, and negotiations have been far from easy.
Arsenal were not happy with the way Sporting were dragging things on, but Andrea Berta has finally found a breakthrough to seal a deal.
Gyokeres is now set to complete the formalities before being announced as a new Arsenal player.
Winners from Viktor Gyokeres signing for Arsenal
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta has come under enormous criticism from fans, pundits and the media over the last few years for not signing a new striker.
Some people made it seem like he voluntarily refused a new centre-forward, when in reality, it was the owners who failed him.
Now, finally, Arteta is about to get his man, and the hope is that Gyokeres will get Arsenal and their manager over the line in the Premier League.
Martin Odegaard
Martin Odegaard is one of Arsenal’s best players on his day.
The Norway international has produced several special performances in the famous red and white over the years, but many of the chances he has created have gone to waste.
Now, with a proven goalscorer in Viktor Gyokeres about to come in, we expect Odegaard’s assist tally to go up significantly in the upcoming season.
Andrea Berta
Andrea Berta deserves a lot of praise for getting the Gyokeres deal done.
The Italian has already done some great work in this window, but he was always going to be judged by the striker he was going to sign.
Bringing in someone who has scored 97 goals over the last two seasons should appease most fans, if not all of them.
Losers from Viktor Gyokeres signing for Arsenal
Benjamin Sesko
Benjamin Sesko was Arsenal’s preferred striker target this summer.
The Slovenia international has been on Arteta’s radar for over a year now, and for several weeks in this window, it seemed like he would be the one.
However, RB Leipzig demanded a fee in excess of £78 million for Sesko (TeamTalk), so Arsenal decided to focus their attention on Gyokeres instead.
Sesko is the big loser now, as he could be stuck at Leipzig for another year.
Mikel Merino
Mikel Merino did a very good job when he was deployed as a striker last season.
However, with Gyokeres coming in, the Spaniard will not get any more chances up top. Furthermore, Merino’s chances of game time in midfield will decrease too, as Kai Havertz and Declan Rice will be ahead of him in that left-sided number eight role.
We still expect Merino to stay at Arsenal this summer, but it will be a surprise if he starts more than a handful of games in the Premier League and Champions League.
Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus has been working very hard on returning from his injury at Arsenal.
The Brazilian is not expected to be back until the final quarter of this year, and in what is bad news for him, he is unlikely to play too many games when he does return.
That’s because Gyokeres, as well as Havertz, will be ahead of Jesus in the pecking order, and we won’t be surprised if Arteta prefers Merino over the former Manchester City man as well.
Jesus would’ve been transfer-listed if he weren’t injured right now. We expect him to leave in the January transfer window.
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