How likely Viktor Gyokeres is to make his Arsenal debut vs Newcastle United on Sunday

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Viktor Gyokeres is finally on the verge of completing his move to Arsenal from Sporting CP.

After a protracted transfer saga that included the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Ollie Watkins, Andrea Berta finally settled on Gyokeres, before reaching an agreement with the Portuguese giants.

The Gunners will pay £55 million up front for the Swedish striker, with £8 million in performance-related add-ons also included in the deal.

With pre-season now underway, Arsenal hope to announce the signing of Gyokeres before the end of this week.

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Viktor Gyokeres is unlikely to play against Newcastle on Sunday

Arsenal beat AC Milan 1-0 in Singapore on Wednesday in their first pre-season friendly in front of fans.

Mikel Arteta’s side take on Newcastle on Sunday, before facing Tottenham in Hong Kong next week.

Kai Havertz is the sole senior striker in the group at the moment, and thus, Arteta’s squad could do with Gyokeres arriving as quickly as possible to give the German some respite up front.

According to Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth, Arsenal are working hard to try and get Gyokeres in the door as soon as possible so that he can join the camp in Singapore for the upcoming games, although a debut against Newcastle is unlikely.

“They are still hopeful, I think, Arsenal that he can play a part in this pre-season tour,” Sheth told the Transfer Talk podcast.

“As we record this, Arsenal are playing AC Milan later today, but the second match of this tour in Singapore is going to be on Sunday against Newcastle United.

“Might be a tad ambitious, given we don’t know how much Gyokeres has been training in pre-season, but there is still a hope that Arsenal can get all of this sorted and he’ll be part of that squad to play some sort of part in this pre-season tour.”

Kai Havertz should start ahead of Viktor Gyokeres against Manchester United

After games against Newcastle and Spurs, the Gunners return to London for matches against Villarreal and Athletic Club at the Emirates.

These are the final two encounters for Arsenal before the season starts, with Arteta’s men travelling to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on August 17th.

By that point, Gyokeres should have some meaningful minutes under his belt and be ready to feature from the outset.

That said, Havertz should start over the 27-year-old in the north-west.

Gyokeres needs time to settle in at Arsenal and back in English football, and unveiling him at Old Trafford may be something of a baptism of fire.

He should be slowly integrated into the side in the opening few weeks of the season so that he’s well accustomed to the system and how his teammates operate.