Arsenal staff, fans and scouts got a close-up view of transfer target Viktor Gyokeres on Tuesday night in the Champions League from their clash with Sporting CP.
It was a fantastic night for the travelling supporters as goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard sealed the victory.
With Arsenal beating Sporting 5-1, their chances of a top-eight finish in the Champions League improved dramatically, with the view of kicking on in the final three matches of the league phase.
Beyond that was the sub-plot that surrounding Gyokeres and a potential transfer audition for a switch to the Emirates Stadium.
The striker had far from an easy night though, something that may have created doubt over a possible move to Arsenal.
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Rio Ferdinand questions Viktor Gyokeres’ Premier League transfer
Gyokeres is a transfer target for Arsenal and Man United, following plenty of impressive goals scored since his move to Sporting CP.
There are questions over whether he can bring that to the Premier League, especially given his struggles against the Gunners.
It was something Rio Ferdinand questioned when speaking on TNT Sports, claiming: “Have I seen enough [from Viktor Gyokeres] to say that I think he can come to the Premier League and be a success?
“I’m not saying he wouldn’t, I’d say you’d need to see more than what we saw today, definitely.”
Gyokeres had just 40 touches in the game, six of which were from kick-offs due to the game restarting so often.
Sporting struggled to get the Swedish international into the game, finding him dropping deep rather than playing to his strengths.
He looked at his most threatening when hit with direct passes, pinning the centre-backs and turning them for pace.
While he may not have shown his best performance, there is an argument that he wasn’t given the chance to by his team’s tactics.
It’s something to keep in mind for Mikel Arteta and his staff, should they complete a switch in the coming transfer windows.
Is Viktor Gyokeres good enough for the Premier League?
A question still persists over whether Gyokeres could step up to the level of English football, with mixed answers so far.
His hat-trick against Manchester City certainly suggests he could, while a difficult performance against Arsenal put doubt over that.
The truth may be somewhere in the middle, though strikers joining from Portugal haven’t always had great success.
Islam Slimani, for example, scored 52 goals and assisted 15 in Portugal in just 91 appearances, though that never translated to the Premier League.
| League | Portugal | England |
| Appearances | 91 | 40 |
| Goals | 52 | 8 |
| Assists | 15 | 6 |
A similar thing can be said of Carlos Vinicius, who has played at Tottenham and Fulham with little success since leaving Benfica.
| League | Portugal | England |
| Appearances | 48 | 50 |
| Goals | 26 | 8 |
| Assists | 9 | 2 |
Whether Gyokeres faces that same problem remains to be seen, but it’s a huge risk to take on an expensive striker.
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