Arsenal have been in talks over signing Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP for quite some time now.
Indeed, it’s no secret that Arsenal want Gyokeres, and while a deal is still progressing, some worrying murmurs are now starting to emerge.
It’s been reported that Gyokeres’ move to Arsenal is set to collapse, and that is certainly a concerning development for both Arsenal and Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres is all-in on signing for Arsenal, and according to The Sun’s Will Pugh, speaking on Transfers Exposed, the striker is willing to take quite a drastic measure if his move to Arsenal collapses.
Viktor Gyokeres will never play for Sporting again
According to Pugh, the latest word from Gyokeres’ camp is that no matter what happens, Gyokeres has played his final game for Sporting.
The journalist says that even if Gyokeres’ move to Arsenal were to fall through at this point, the attacker would never play for Sporting again.
“But the latest being that the word out of Gyokeres’ camp is that whatever happens, even if this Arsenal deal were to fall through, he’s never playing for Sporting again,” Pugh said.
“And if it doesn’t, it’s just sort of perhaps part of the negotiating thing, and a bit of pressure from Gyokeres’ camp onto Sporting to make them do the deal, or push them close to agreeing a fee, by saying ‘by the way, if you dig your heels in on this too much, and he doesn’t go to Arsenal, he’s never playing for you again.’”
Arsenal have seen this situation before
Gyokeres is willing to go on strike in order to force his move away from Sporting CP, and this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a player do this.
Sadly, this is an all too common phenomenon as player power in the game continues to grow.
Players such as Victor Osimhen, Matheus Nunes and Dimitri Payet have notably gone on strike to force moves in recent years, while Arsenal have been here before too.
Back in 2019, Laurent Koscielny went on strike at Arsenal, refusing to train with the Gunners’ first-team in order to get his move back to France.
Ultimately, Koscielny did get his move, and Gyokeres is likely to get his wish this summer too, even if a move to Arsenal doesn’t materialise.
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