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At long, long, long last, Arsenal have their striker. The Gunners have arguably needed one for the last two years, but after several months of searching, the answer has arrived.
On Saturday evening, they announced the arrival of Viktor Gyokeres who put pen to paper after signing for around £64m.
It ended a saga that became rather toxic, particularly at the Sporting end. Gyokeres reportedly told his former employers that he’d never play for the club again after a breakdown in relations.
The Swede felt that the Portuguese side had broken the agreement they had that he could be sold for a particular fee.
Anyway, the attacker has finally got away from Lisbon and will now call London his home, bringing with him an abundance of goals. He scored 54 times in 52 outings throughout 2024/25.
Had that move fallen through, then Andrea Berta did have other options.
Arsenal’s striker options this summer
Before Berta decided to go all in on Gyokeres, Slovenian powerhouse Benjamin Sesko was widely thought to be Arsenal’s number one choice.
They’ve been looking at the RB Leipzig striker for the best part of 18 months but things unravelled over the summer of 2025.
Indeed, according to the Athletic, it looked for all the world as though Sesko would be their first choice this summer. In March, Jason Ayton, Edu’s interim successor, was going to head to Germany in a bid to make headway on a deal. But, towards the back end of that month, the dynamic changed after Berta’s arrival at Arsenal.
That trip to Germany was canned and Gyokeres’ name came into contention with Berta a big fan of the player. With support from the owners, the club decided to explore the conditions of both deals.
Unfortunately, Sesko’s salary expectations and associated commission meant that the cost of any deal was too high. Consequently, they focused on Gyokeres and here he is.
Via The Athletic, also considered this summer was Ollie Watkins but they had reservations over his age. Former Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez was also on the agenda.
Indeed, the Atletico Madrid star’s name was discussed behind the scenes before they focused their attention on Gyokeres. That was probably a smart move considering some reports valued the Argentine at around £142m this year.
Still, he’d have been a remarkable signing had the club gone in that direction instead.
How Viktor Gyokeres compares to Julian Alvarez
While the Sesko move fell apart due to finances, the Gunners will be enormously content with the deal to bring Gyokeres to the Emirates Stadium.
Lavish fees have been spent in England this summer and you only need to look at the £79m fee Liverpool have paid for a project striker in Hugo Ekitike to know what Arsenal have got a better bargain here.
The Portuguese top-flight will have its doubters but the hierarchy in north London have paid just over £60m for a player who bagged 50 plus goals last season.
Even if he scores half that number in Arsenal colours this forthcoming campaign, he will have been a good signing. After all, Mikel Arteta’s men just need goals. For the first time since the 1923/24 campaign, no player in red and white scored double figures in the league. Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz endured lengthy injury spells but it makes for grim reading nonetheless.
There are some concerns surrounding the tactical fit of Gyokeres in this Arsenal team. We’re not attempting to bash this move, he’s a great signing, but despite the Swede’s power and height – he stands at 6 foot 2 – only around 12.5% of his shots came with his head and he didn’t score a single header in the league last term.
If Gyokeres finds a way to over 20 goals next season then few will care how they come but it does explain why Arsenal were looking at other options too, notably Alvarez.
Premier League-proven, the World Cup winner has been described as a “monster” by Argentine journalist Pablo Gonzalez and remarkably as “the best forward in the world” by reporter Roy Nemer.
His stock is incredibly high and his numbers in Spain last campaign demonstrate why. While Alvarez’s goalscoring record paled in comparison to Gyokeres, he did find the net on 29 occasions and at a higher level too. He also registered eight assists in all competitions.
While concerns surround Gyokeres’ ability to translate his form in Portugal to the Premier League, there will have no such doubts about Alvarez. He’s already dazzled for Manchester City at this level.
In 2023/24, his final campaign under Pep Guardiola, the 25-year-old netted 19 goals and assisted 14, demonstrating that he is the complete package.
He’s also been there and done it all despite his age. He’s won the English top-flight on two occasions, he’s won the FA Cup, he’s won the Champions League, he’s won Copa America twice and of course, he’s got his hands on the World Cup trophy.
Despite being 25, Alvarez has quite the CV and there is no doubt that he’d have really taken Arsenal to the next level under Arteta’s wing.
Still, with Gyokeres, a 50-goal striker arriving through the door, few can complain when the club’s main problem last term was scoring goals.
