The transfer window might have only officially opened a few days ago, but Premier League clubs are moving fast, and Arsenal need to keep up.
For example, while the signing of Martin Zubimendi feels imminent, Liverpool have already picked up Jeremie Frimpong and look set to land Florian Wirtz at some point.
Even Manchester United, who endured one of their worst seasons ever, are making moves, with Matheus Cunha already secured and Bryan Mbeumo making it clear he wants to join them.
The Brentford star has previously been linked with the Gunners, but while missing out on him is far from ideal, recent reports suggest the North Londoners are progressing with another attacker who’d be their answer to the Cameroonian.
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Arsenal might not have secured any offensive signings just yet, but it feels more like a matter of when and not if, as over the last few weeks, the club have been linked with more than their fair share of exciting options, like Benjamin Sesko and Joao Pedro.
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The former could cost around £68m this summer, and while that might be a lot to pay for a 22-year-old, he has proven himself to be a reliable attacking outlet, scoring 21 goals and providing six assists in 45 games this season.
On the other hand, Pedro might cost up to a staggering £70m, and while he’s undoubtedly a talented player, we aren’t entirely sure his haul of ten goals and seven assists this season quite justifies that price tag.
Fortunately, another free-scoring phenom is high on the Gunners’ shortlist this summer: Viktor Gyokeres.
According to a recent report from Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, Arsenal are among several teams incredibly interested in the Sporting CP star.
The report claims that the Gunners, Manchester United and Napoli are among the frontrunners to land the Swedish international but to do so, they’ll have to pay up to €70m, which is around £59m.
It could be a complicated and costly deal to get over the line, but Gyokeres would certainly be worth pushing the boat out for, especially as he could be the North Londoners’ answer to Mbeumo.
Why Gyokeres could be Arsenal's answer to Mbeumo
Now, while Mbeumo is primarily a winger and Gyokeres is an out-and-out striker, there are several similarities between the pair that could make the latter Arsenal’s answer to United signing the former.
Firstly, both players honed their craft in the EFL, with the Cameroon international joining Brentford from Troyes in the summer of 2019 at just 19 years old and making 86 appearances in the Championship, in which he scored 23 goals and provided 18 assists.
Likewise, following a couple of middling loans, the Sporting star joined Coventry City on a short-term deal in January 2021 and then on a permanent deal that summer.
During his two-and-a-half seasons with the Sky Blues, the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace made 110 second-tier appearances, in which he scored 41 goals and provided 15 assists, which was enough to earn him his move to Portugal.
This brings us to the second reason he’d be the North Londoners’ answer to the Red Devils’ question, which is that, like the Bees ace, the Stockholm-born “powerhouse,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, would be their own game-changing attacking signing.
Appearances
52
42
Minutes
4248′
3577′
Goals
54
20
Assists
13
9
Goal Involvements per Match
1.28
0.69
Minutes per Goal Involvement
63.40′
123.34′
For example, there can be no doubt that Reuben Amorim’s side will be more dangerous next season with a player who racked up 29 goal involvements this season.
In the Gunners’ case, the addition of a striker who managed to score 54 goals and provide 13 assists in 52 games this season could be utterly transformational and turn them from an almost side to one who could win it all next year.
Ultimately, while they aren’t exactly the same sort of player, there is no doubt that signing Gyorkeres would be the perfect response from Arsenal to United signing Mbeumo.
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