Arsenal continue to be linked with a transfer for Viktor Gyokeres, the Sporting CP star who could punish the Gunners in the Champions League.
Mikel Arteta is preparing his side for the challenge of the Portuguese side who have already torn through Manchester City this season.
While his attention is firmly fixed on the Champions League and getting Arsenal into the top-eight of the competition, the sub-plot surrounds transfer decisions.
Gyokeres has been heavily linked with an Arsenal transfer, following over a season of ridiculous goal-scoring feats.
It has seen the Swedish international compared to Erling Haaland in more than just his stature.
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Arsenal transfer target Viktor Gyokeres likened to Erling Haaland
Ahead of the showdown, the Sporting CP boss admitted he wasn’t afraid of Gyokeres on the transfer front, wanting him to score goals rather than worry about putting himself in the shop window.
Meanwhile, Arteta was coy about Gyokeres, preferring to talk about the opposition as a whole team rather than one individual.
Others haven’t been so quiet on their admiration of the striker, which includes David Novo, executive editor at Record – a Portuguese newspaper.
He told The Standard: “I don’t like to make comparisons, but I think he has similar aspects with Erling Haaland.
“He is not at Erling’s level, but he has some characteristics that remind me a little bit of Haaland, in terms of being powerful, physically strong and fast.
“It is true that Gyokeres has higher numbers than Haaland this season, but Haaland has been scoring a lot in the last years in England and Germany.
“With these two seasons, and the next one in a bigger championship, Gyokeres could raise his level to something similar.”
It’s unclear whether that level could be raised at the Emirates Stadium, but Arsenal have been screaming out for their own Haaland.
In Viktor Gyokeres, they may finally have that.
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Viktory Gyokeres and Erling Haaland stats compared
Comparisons between Gyokeres and Haaland often come in their playing style and their knack for scoring goals.
Both are tall, physical strikers that have a surprising amount of pace and an ability to score in a variety of ways.
Their routes into top-tier football couldn’t be much different though, with Haaland something of a prodigious talent coming through at RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and now Manchester City at a young age.
Gyokeres had a slightly different route, joining Brighton at a young age but not quite making it in his time there.
A move to Championship Coventry really saw him take off though, eventually joining Sporting CP, where the world is starting to see his ability.
At 26 years old, there’s still plenty of scoring ahead for Gyokeres, with a potential step up on the cards as well.
| Player | Viktor Gyokeres | Erling Haaland |
| Appearances | 69 | 62 |
| Goals | 67 | 53 |
| Assists | 19 | 5 |
The Swedish striker has outscored his Norwegian counterpart, though it’s worth questioning the level of Portuguese football on the whole and asking if it would scale to him joining English football.
That’s the question everyone seems to be asking, but there’s only one way to find it.
It remains to be seen if Arsenal will be the ones to test it on the transfer front.
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