Another injury in attack could finally tempt Arsenal into signing a new striker, with Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres being linked with a move to the Emirates.
A striker has been on Arsenal’s wishlist for some time now, and with Gabriel Jesus joining the Gunners’ injury list in the FA Cup defeat against Manchester United, the Gunners may look to add some depth in attack this January rather than waiting until the summer. With the Premier League and Champions League still up for grabs, now could be the perfect time for a new striker, with Sporting’s Gyokeres reportedly a target for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Since moving to Sporting from Coventry City in 2023, Gyokeres has scored 75 goals in 80 games for the Portuguese side, with 32 of them coming in 30 games this season. He’s also proven a threat on the international stage, grabbing 13 goals and five assists in 15 games for Sweden across 2024.
The 26-year-old has a release clause of €100 million (£83 million), but if Arsenal were to wait until the summer, Sporting could allow the Swede to depart for a lower fee. So, if Arsenal were to sign Gyokeres, how could he perform for Arteta’s side? Let’s take a look.
Rest of Arsenal’s 2024/25 season simulated with Viktor Gyokeres
To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2024 to move Gyokeres to Arsenal in the January transfer window before simulating the rest of the 2024/25 season. This is how the Gunners performed with the Swede in their squad.
Arteta made Gyokeres his starting striker as soon as he signed for the club, with Kai Havertz dropping into midfield or coming on off the bench. Once the 26-year-old was in the squad, he became undroppable, making 24 appearances in his first six months at the club, with all of them starts.
