Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta would need to convince Mikel Arteta that Sporting Lisbon‘s Viktor Gyokeres is the right striker to sign this summer, expert Charles Watts believes.
The Gunners – who will move for a new big-money number nine this summer – are understood to possess a growing interest in the lethal Sweden international, having ostensibly decided that Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak will prove too expensive.
Gyokeres was nullified by Arsenal’s defenders in the Champions League earlier this season, but the former Coventry City man has enjoyed another sensational campaign with 43 goals from as many games in all competitions, in addition to 11 assists.
While Gyokeres is not Premier League-proven unlike Isak and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, Watts told Sports Mole why the Scandinavian is still his number one pick, saying: “Isak hadn’t played in the Premier League before. If you sign Gyokeres, you’re signing a more experienced player, someone who’s played in England. He knows full well how physical it can be.
“They’re not going to be able to sign Isak. Newcastle aren’t going to sell. There are people saying they’ll pay over the odds, but you’re talking basically £150m. That’s not just over the odds. That’s basically your entire budget gone on one player. Arsenal have to sign a midfielder, sign a left-sided option.
“If you’re shelling out basically your entire budget on one player, which is what it would have to be just to get Newcastle to have a conversation, I just don’t see that as realistic. Gyokeres has been top of my list for a while. I wouldn’t be disappointed with Sesko. He’s a real talent.
Why Gyokeres is ‘top of the list’ for Watts
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“Gyokeres is more ready-made, you’re bringing him in to hit the ground running. He’s not a developmental striker like Sesko. I’m not sure Sesko comes in and replaces Kai Havertz next season. He probably would eventually, but initially you bed him in and give him time, he’s still very raw.
“Gyokeres is older, is physically so, so strong, and just sniffs out goals. Would he be as prolific in the Premier League? No. But even if he gets half of that tally, that’s a very good tally. I liked him against Arsenal this season. He was given a really tough time by Saliba and Gabriel but didn’t shirk the challenge. He did cause them some problems. Soon as Gabriel went off and Kiwior went on, Gyokeres bullied him.”
Gyokeres was solid without ever being spectacular at Coventry, bagging 43 goals in 116 matches for the Championship side, but he has elevated his game to new heights in Portugal, having a hand in 112 strikes in 93 games.
The 26-year-old – who is firmly in his prime years – has bagged 86 goals of his own while setting up 26 more for Sporting and would offer the physical profile that Arteta looks for in a striker, standing at 6ft 2in tall.
A clause in Gyokeres’s contract reportedly means that he could depart for £85m this summer, although Sporting may be open to bids of around the £70m mark amid interest from Chelsea and Manchester United also.
At the same time, Newcastle are likely to demand around £120m to sell Isak, and Watts does not buy into the notion that Arsenal’s supposed heightened interest in Gyokeres could be a tactic to try to drive the price down for the Magpies marksman, but Berta would do well to “convince” Arteta to side with the signing of Gyokeres.
“No, because Newcastle don’t want to sell Isak!” he added. “They’re already in Europe, they’ve still got a chance for Champions League qualification. If they get Champions League football, they will just laugh at anyone who comes to the table. It’s just not going to happen for me.
‘Arteta would need convincing to sign Gyokeres’
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“I don’t think there’s any tactics involved, I think it is interesting that the Gyokeres stuff has come up now. Arsenal have looked at Gyokeres before, but it’s been fleeting. We know Arteta’s dream is Isak, 100%. If he could just click his fingers and sign a striker, it would definitely be Alexander Isak.
“But the fact that Gyokeres seems to be more in the conversation now, that does suggest that Berta’s influence is on. Arteta’s interest there has been a bit lukewarm on Gyokeres. If suddenly it’s heating up, that suggests that Berta’s and thinking, ‘I’ve got a relationship here Sporting or the agents, we could potentially get this done.’
“It feels like straight away that would be Berta trying to convince Arteta, because I think if Arsenal sign Gyokeres, Arteta would need convincing because he’s not really pushed the boat out. You want different voices involved. It can’t just be the manager, not the way that modern football’s run now.”
Arsenal’s new sporting director Berta is understood to be a big fan of Gyokeres’s profile, but a new striker is just one of a handful of priorities that the ex-Atletico Madrid chief will have to get a firm grip on during the summer.
Arteta is also expected to push for a new left-winger amid links with Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, and the Gunners are favourites to win the race for £51m Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, but that deal is not wrapped up yet.
Furthermore, a new permanent goalkeeper should be on the agenda, in addition to contract talks with a plethora of key players, namely Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Ethan Nwaneri.
What is Berta’s number one priority this summer?
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Asked what should be the number one item on Berta’s agenda, Watts stopped short of singling out one issue but talked up the importance of avoiding a Liverpool-style contract situation, where all of Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk could leave for free.
“That’s tough,” he concluded. “I don’t know how you could put one with more importance. The summer is huge for Arsenal transfer wise, but the contract renewals are as well because of the players that we’re talking about. They’re so integral to this team and this project. He’s just going to be an incredibly busy man.
“That’s why Arsenal brought him in, that’s why they’re paying him the big bucks. He’s going to have to resolve it. He’s got to hit the ground running. I’m really happy they’ve done this now. It’s well before the summer transfer window, he can take hold of the stuff that Arsenal have already prepared and try and get it over the line.
“The contracts, for me, are so important because of who we’re talking about – Saliba, Gabriel, Saka. You’ve got to get those sorted, because you can’t allow yourself to get into a stage that Liverpool are now in. But the striker issue, every Arsenal fan’s probably bored talking about it, but that just has to be resolved.
“We’ve heard whispers this week that Gyokeres has moved further up the pecking order. It’s very well known that he was quite keen to take him to Atletico Madrid. The feeling has always been if it’s not going to be Isak, it’d be Sesko. If Gyokeres has now moved ahead of Sesko, that says immediately that Berta’s influence is around the place.”
Saka, Saliba and Gabriel will all enter the final 12 months of their contract this summer, but the Gunners are rumoured to be planning imminent talks with one member of the trio following Berta’s arrival.
