Arsenal are in advanced negotiations to sign Victor Gyökeres from Sporting CP. The Swedish striker has reportedly prioritized a move to Arsenal over other Premier League competitors. Manchester United registered their interest in Gyökeres, but the player prefers a move to a London club.
The Gunners have agreed to personal terms with the player. A five-year contract is expected to be signed, according to The Athletic. Negotiations with Sporting CP over a transfer fee have been progressing well ever since Sporting president Frederico Varandas made it clear how they want the deal to be done. They expect an offer of more than £60 million to let the player leave.
Arsenal have been in the market for a center forward for some time. Their number one target last season was Benjamin Sesco, from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig. Sesco decided to renew his contract with Leipzig just before the Euros of 2024.
This transfer window has seen two main targets for the center forward. Victor Gyökeres’ name has been heavily mentioned among Arsenal’s fans to take the role in demand. Victor has an amazing record in Portugal. He scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting. His numbers made Arsenal consider the possibility of adding a goal machine like him to the squad.
This is the target man.
In Victor, Arsenal is getting the accomplished number nine. This is different from the way the deal for Benjamin Sesco was viewed. Mikel Arteta and newly appointed sporting director Andrea Berta joined forces to recruit the players they need now to steer the team towards major titles.
Since his arrival, Berta has been in constant negotiations regarding the attacking targets. He is looking to add a wide attacking player, with Eberechi Eze and Rodrigo emerging as serious options. He is also said to be pushing for Noni Madueke from Chelsea.
Arsenal announced the signing of Martin Zubimendi early today. The move is to strengthen the midfield position since the departure of Jorginho and Thomas Partey. They were also said to be in contact with Brentford for Christian Norgaard.
Mikel Arteta is looking forward to the arrival of a new center forward before the beginning of their pre-season preparations. Mikel saw his side lose a lot of attacking players due to injuries, which demoralized his team in the title challenge last season. A situation he is looking to avoid.
Victor Gyokeres vs Benjamin Sesco.
Victor and Benjamin are the hottest center forwards Arsenal have come across recently. They play the number nine role differently. In Mikel Arteta’s priority, he would have liked to bring Benjamin Sesco rather than Victor Gyökeres.
Benjamin is similar to Kai Havertz in his style of play. He is good at hold-up play and is a major threat in aerial balls. This is something Mikel would consider since he still has Gabriel Jesus.
However, Gyökeres is a different type of player. He is not as good in the air compared to his counterpart. Gyokeres likes to be involved in plays near the target. He scored many goals around the 18-yard box and loved the physical battle with defenders.
One thing he is good at is scoring goals.
