Arsenal supporters believe Gabriel Magalhaes must play a role in the welcome announcement for Viktor Gyokeres as a move nears completion.
The Gunners’ intention all summer has been to sign a striker, with Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko the two main targets amid loose links to Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
At one stage it appeared Sesko was heading to the Emirates Stadium until Arsenal made their move for the Sweden international.
And following a stalemate over talks and Gyokeres risking disciplinary action after failing to report for Sporting pre-season training, the Gunners have made significant progress and are now closing in on a deal to sign the prolific striker.
Standard Sport understands the final details of a move are now being discussed and all parties are moving towards reaching a full agreement for the 27-year-old to join the Gunners in a deal worth €63.5million (£54.86m), with a further €10m (£8.64m) in add-ons.
Having netted 97 goals in just 102 appearances for Sporting across two seasons, Gyokeres has developed his own trademark celebration as he crosses his hands over his mouth to create a ‘mask’.
Interestingly, a variation of this celebration was used against Gyokeres last season as Gabriel appeared to mimic the gesture after scoring in Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Sporting in the Champions League.
As such footage exists and with it looking increasingly likely that the pair will soon be teammates, some supporters on social media are keen for the Brazilian to feature in the striker’s announcement video.
Of the celebration, Gyokeres did effectively give Gabriel the green light to “steal it”.
“He’s welcome to steal it if he can’t create his own celebration!,” he told ViaPlay. “I didn’t know he did that, but it’s fun he likes my celebration.”
Gabriel did repeat the celebration a few days later as Arsenal beat West Ham at the London Stadium, though opted against using it after equalising in the FA Cup third round penalty shootout loss to Manchester United.
