Arsenal seem to have finally woken up this summer.
The club may not have officially announced any new signings yet, but over the last few days, the North Londoners have made rapid progress on several targets.
Brentford’s Christian Norgaard seems to be as good as in following the news that Thomas Partey is probably leaving, and talks to sign Christian Mosquera appear to be progressing very well indeed.
There has even been plenty of talk around Eberechi Eze moving to the Emirates, and in more good news, the club are also linked with a goalscoring phenomenon who’d be a dream teammate for the Englishman.
While there were some murmurings of Arsenal being somewhat interested in Eze last summer, they never felt like anything more than loose rumours.
However, in the last couple of days, what felt like nothing more than paper talk appears to have developed into something more, with stories claiming that talks have already been held and that the North Londoners are ready to do battle with Tottenham Hotspur for his services.
There is no doubt that the Premier League-proven international, who can play in multiple positions, would be an excellent addition to Mikel Arteta’s squad, but in even better news, reports are now heavily linking the club with someone who could get even more out of him at the Emirates.
At least that’s according to a recent report from journalist Buchi Laba via Caught Offside, who has reaffirmed Arsenal’s intense interest in Viktor Gyokeres.
He has revealed that due to the “crazy money” RB Leipzig are demanding for Benjamin Sesko, the Gunners have now reignited their interest in the Sporting CP star, and even though an offer has now been made, the club have restarted talks with the player and his camp.
In terms of the money needed to get the deal done, the report has revealed that the Portuguese outfit are asking for a fee in excess of £60m, although it is not entirely clear what the exact amount they want.
It could be a complicated and costly transfer to get done, but given Gyokeres’ incredible ability, it’s one Arsenal should be fighting for, especially as he’d be a perfect teammate for Eze.
While there are undoubtedly numerous reasons why Gyokeres would be an excellent teammate for Eze at Arsenal, from his experience of playing abroad to his rise from the Championship to the Champions League, one stands out above all others: his output.
In fact, this reason goes both ways, as the Sporting star will want to join a club that has a creative and prolific number ten in the heart of the midfield, which is exactly what the Englishman could be.
For example, in 34 Premier League games this season, the former QPR gem scored eight goals and provided eight assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.12 games.
In contrast, Martin Odegaard produced 11 goal involvements in 30 games, at an average of one every 2.72 games.
With that said, what is it about the Swedish international’s output that would make him such an incredible teammate to pair up with the Crystal Palace star this summer?
Well, simply put, instead of being impressive, or brilliant even, the former Coventry City star’s record in front of goal over the last two years has been nothing short of otherworldly.
For example, since moving to the Lisbon outfit in the summer of 2023, the Stockholm-born “monster,” as dubbed by one analyst, has made 102 appearances, totalling 8417 minutes, in which he has found the back of the net on 97 occasions, and provided 28 assists for good measure.
In other words, the 27-year-old goalscoring “powerhouse,” as dubbed by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, has maintained an average of 1.22 goal involvements every game, or even more impressively, every 67.33 minutes.
Even if he was only able to produce a third of those numbers in England, he would still be one of the most dangerous forwards in the country and, in turn, help send Eze’s goal and assist numbers to the moon.
Ultimately, while it might cost a pretty penny, Arsenal should be doing all they can to sign Gyokeres this summer, as he could be the difference between another second-place finish and glory.
