ARSENAL HAVE finally solved their striker conundrum by completing the £55million (€63 million) signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon.
The 27-year-old Sweden international, who fired Sporting to the title last season with 39 goals and netted a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City, is understood to have signed a five-year deal at the Emirates.
Gyokeres’ transfer, which could end up costing the north London club as much as £64m (€74m) with performance-related add-ons, takes Arsenal’s close-season spending to the region of £200m (€229m).
He becomes Mikel Arteta’s sixth summer signing and follows defender Cristhian Mosquera (€15m), midfielder Martin Zubimendi (€69m), goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (€5.7m), midfielder Christian Norgaard (€11m) and forward Noni Madueke (€55.5m) in moving to the Emirates.
A statement from Arsenal read: “We are delighted to announce that Sweden international Viktor Gyokeres has signed for us on a long-term contract.”
Gyokeres will be expected to meet up with his new teammates in Arsenal’s ongoing pre-season tour of Singapore and Hong Kong.
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The Gunners face Newcastle in the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday ahead of the concluding game of their tour, against Tottenham in Hong Kong on 31 July.
Manager Arteta said: “Viktor has so many qualities. He is a quick and powerful presence up front, with incredible goalscoring numbers at club and international levels. He brings a clinical edge with a high conversion rate of chances into goals, with his intelligent movement in the box making him a constant threat.
“We’re excited about what Viktor brings to our squad and are looking forward to starting to work with him.”
Gyokeres moved to Brighton from Swedish side Brommapojkarna in January 2018, but spent time on loan at St Pauli and then Swansea and Coventry, before making a permanent move to the Sky Blues in July 2021.
After Coventry were beaten on penalties by Luton in the 2023 Sky Bet Championship final at Wembley, Gyokeres completed a £20.5m (€23m) switch to Sporting. He scored a remarkable 97 goals in 102 matches for the Portuguese side.
Arsenal spent the concluding months of last season without a recognised striker following long-term injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.
Even before then, Arsenal were in desperate need of a reliable scorer, and Arteta will hope his new signing can fire him to his first silverware since he won the FA Cup in 2020, and end the club’s two-decade wait for a Premier League title.
Arsenal’s new sporting director, Andrea Berta, has wasted little time in strengthening a squad which has finished runners-up in the league for the past three seasons.
Gabriel and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also put pen to paper on new contracts in the off-season, with a long-term extension for teenager Ethan Nwaneri believed to be all but completed.
Berta said: “We are confident Viktor will have a major impact on the pitch and become an important figure in our dressing room.”
It was four on his debut in mid-week, and Evan Ferguson has scored again for Roma today! 🐺🐺
He's quick to put pressure on the goalkeeper and gets rewarded with one of the simplest goals he'll ever score 👏 pic.twitter.com/xRW7GDruvb
Elsewhere today, Ireland international Evan Ferguson was on target for his new club Roma.
The 20-year-old forward scored the game’s only goal as the Serie A team beat German second-tier side Kaiserslautern 1-0 in a pre-season friendly, capitalising on a goalkeeping error in the 16th minute, stealing possession from Julian Krahl and slotting into the empty net.
The Meath native, who joined the Italian club on loan from Brighton earlier this month, also scored four goals and registered an assist in an in-house training game against Serie D side UniPomezia earlier in the week.
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Arsenal pay up to €73 million for sought-after Swedish international Gyokeres
ARSENAL HAVE finally solved their striker conundrum by completing the £55million (€63 million) signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon.
The 27-year-old Sweden international, who fired Sporting to the title last season with 39 goals and netted a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City, is understood to have signed a five-year deal at the Emirates.
Gyokeres’ transfer, which could end up costing the north London club as much as £64m (€74m) with performance-related add-ons, takes Arsenal’s close-season spending to the region of £200m (€229m).
He becomes Mikel Arteta’s sixth summer signing and follows defender Cristhian Mosquera (€15m), midfielder Martin Zubimendi (€69m), goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (€5.7m), midfielder Christian Norgaard (€11m) and forward Noni Madueke (€55.5m) in moving to the Emirates.
A statement from Arsenal read: “We are delighted to announce that Sweden international Viktor Gyokeres has signed for us on a long-term contract.”
Gyokeres will be expected to meet up with his new teammates in Arsenal’s ongoing pre-season tour of Singapore and Hong Kong.
The Gunners face Newcastle in the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday ahead of the concluding game of their tour, against Tottenham in Hong Kong on 31 July.
Manager Arteta said: “Viktor has so many qualities. He is a quick and powerful presence up front, with incredible goalscoring numbers at club and international levels. He brings a clinical edge with a high conversion rate of chances into goals, with his intelligent movement in the box making him a constant threat.
“We’re excited about what Viktor brings to our squad and are looking forward to starting to work with him.”
Gyokeres moved to Brighton from Swedish side Brommapojkarna in January 2018, but spent time on loan at St Pauli and then Swansea and Coventry, before making a permanent move to the Sky Blues in July 2021.
After Coventry were beaten on penalties by Luton in the 2023 Sky Bet Championship final at Wembley, Gyokeres completed a £20.5m (€23m) switch to Sporting. He scored a remarkable 97 goals in 102 matches for the Portuguese side.
Arsenal spent the concluding months of last season without a recognised striker following long-term injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.
Even before then, Arsenal were in desperate need of a reliable scorer, and Arteta will hope his new signing can fire him to his first silverware since he won the FA Cup in 2020, and end the club’s two-decade wait for a Premier League title.
Arsenal’s new sporting director, Andrea Berta, has wasted little time in strengthening a squad which has finished runners-up in the league for the past three seasons.
Gabriel and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also put pen to paper on new contracts in the off-season, with a long-term extension for teenager Ethan Nwaneri believed to be all but completed.
Berta said: “We are confident Viktor will have a major impact on the pitch and become an important figure in our dressing room.”
Elsewhere today, Ireland international Evan Ferguson was on target for his new club Roma.
The 20-year-old forward scored the game’s only goal as the Serie A team beat German second-tier side Kaiserslautern 1-0 in a pre-season friendly, capitalising on a goalkeeping error in the 16th minute, stealing possession from Julian Krahl and slotting into the empty net.
The Meath native, who joined the Italian club on loan from Brighton earlier this month, also scored four goals and registered an assist in an in-house training game against Serie D side UniPomezia earlier in the week.
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229 million EPL evan ferguson Premier League Soccer Spending spree Arsenal Viktor Gyokeres