Arsenal’s striker hunt is over – but what will Gyokeres bring?

Arsenal simply needs to sign a striker, according to the statement.

It’s probably a phrase manager Mikel Arteta is sick of hearing.

The Gunners’ five-year trophy drought, while overly simplistic, is undoubtedly due to their inability to land a frontman.

They do now, however, have one.

Viktor Gyokeres, who has 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting, will have a strong reputation when he makes his Emirates debut.

He will join Arteta as their most recent signing after signing goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, Christian Norgaard, and Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard, and Cristi Mosquera as center-back for Valencia.

That would bring Arsenal’s summer spending total to a record £210 million, the most money ever spent during Arteta’s tenure.

The arrival of Gyokeres will be the most exciting for Gunners fans as they attempt to win their first trophy since the FA Cup in 2020 and continue to improve on their three previous second-place finishes in the Premier League.

Anyone looking at the Premier League table might wonder why the need to sign a striker has received such a lot of attention.

They were the third-highest scorers of last year, and Liverpool once more proved to be the champions’ closest challengers this time.

However, that doesn’t fully convey the message.

Last season, Arsenal scored 22 goals fewer league goals than they did between 2023 and 2024.

Due to their poor possession, they fell well behind Liverpool and were unable to convert possession into goals as Paris St-Germain knocked them out of the Champions League in the semi-finals.

The difference between Arsenal winning the league and winning these ties is merely a center-forward, Micah Richards, the former defender for Manchester City, said last year.

Ollie Watkins, Alexander Isak, and Benjamin Sesko, a striker at RB Leipzig, are just three of the players the Gunners have looked into recent moves for.

Some Arsenal supporters argue that since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the club in 2022, they have been clamoring for a new player. In the 2019-20 season, he was the league’s final 20-goal scorer, coming back for them.

Kai Havertz, the Gunners’ top scorer last season, finished with his nine goals for joint 26th place in the standings.

In addition to six, he added 15 in other competitions, which is still far below what one would expect from a striker competing for numerous trophies.

Gabriel Jesus and Havertz, both of whom can play other roles but have plenty of experience leading the line, were the only recognized strikers Arteta had hired before Gyokeres.

To put that in perspective, prior to Gyokeres’ four summer signings, Arteta recruited 35 players for either permanent or on-loan for five seasons. The sixth goalkeeper he has signed is Kepa.

Gyokeres has undoubtedly been a goal machine in Portugal, and his most obvious quality is his goalscoring.

His 39 goals, which included eight more than any other player, placed him at the top of the top 10 leagues in Europe last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, and Luis Suarez are the only other players in the top ten leagues in the last 20 years to have scored at least 39 goals in a season.

Although Gyokeres scored only 12 penalties in the Premier League, he scored three more goals overall than anyone else in the non-penalty category. In the Premier League, Jesus averaged 3.0 and Havertz 2.66 shots per 90 minutes, while he had 4.5.

He also appeared to have adopted a “shoo on sight” policy with 139 attempts on goal, or roughly one every 20 minutes, and had a massive 327 touches in the opposition box.

His precision was even better.

The Swede’s shot-conversion rate of 27.3%, which included blocked shots and penalties, was superior to that of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (21.1%), Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (21.6%), and Newcastle’s Isak (26.4%).

In the Premier League, Chris Wood was the only player with a better conversion rate than Chris Wood.

In the 2024-25 Nations League, Gyokeres finished the tournament as the top scorer with nine goals in six games for his nation, including four in one game against Azerbaijan.

In a stronger league, is it still possible for Gyokeres to be just as prolific? He is now 27 and only allowed to play one game in each of Europe’s top five divisions.

The Portuguese Premier League, which Gyokeres impressed before moving to Lisbon, is eighth in the world’s strongest leagues, behind the usual big five (England, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France), the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, and even the English Championship.

After scoring 26 goals for Benfica in 28 Primeira Liga games between 2021 and 2022, critics point to Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez’ struggle for consistency in England.

However, after moving from Portugal, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, and Evanilson of Bournemouth have all enjoyed success in the Premier League.

Gyokeres also contributes to the overall picture.

The 6’2″ striker is well-known for his thought-provoking movements and fast-paced work, and he has won admirable looks for his physical strength, technical skill, and tactical awareness.

He both creates chances and scores goals, much of it coming from his love of running with the ball.

After returning three goals in 19 Championship appearances while on loan with the Sky Blues, Gyokeres left Brighton for a small fee in July 2021.

After scoring 38 times in 91 Coventry league games between the years 2021-22 and 2022-23, he transferred to Sporting for £20.5 million two years later.