Gyokeres' goals must fire Gunners to silverware or Arteta will feel the heat

Metro

4 days ago

Mikel Arteta will be out of excuses if Arsenal fail to win significant silverware this season with the imminent arrival of Viktor Gyokeres from Portuguese side Sporting.
The Gunners have been desperately crying out for a prolific forward to finish off their exciting attacking play as they chase their first Premier League title in more than two decades and it is imperative the Sweden international cuts it in the English top flight.
A fee has been agreed to take the marksman to the Emirates and the deal is expected to be officially announced by the end of the week, pending a medical.
Gyokeres looks a phenomenal player and was the top scorer in Europe last season with 39 goals in the Portuguese Liga, which is more than Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappe and any other hot shot you care to mention netted in their domestic divisions.
He also scored six times in the Champions League, celebrating a hat-trick in a 4-1 home win against Manchester City while also bagging goals against Lille, Sturm Graz and RB Leipzig and has yet to hit his prime as he has only just turned 27.
The flip side of the coin is that the top-flight in Portugal isn't the strongest of competitions and Gyokeres failed to deliver at Brighton before being sold to Coventry where he excelled for the Sky Blues with goals galore, albeit in the Championship.
There is also the concern that Gunners boss Arteta has misfired in previous deals for forwards who should net around 20 league goals a term with the £45m move for Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus and the £65m spent to bring in Kai Havertz from Chelsea failing to deliver the goods – and that's not factoring in Raheem Sterling's disastrous loan spell from the Blues.
Arteta has harped on about believing in his process since taking charge of the Emirates hotseat from Arsène Wenger in December 2019 but the FA Cup success against Chelsea the following May is the only trophy he has won unless you count the 2020 and 2023 Community Shields as major reasons to celebrate.
As well as Gyokeres, Arsenal have splashed out on wideman Noni Madueke, midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard and back-up goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga this summer and could also add another striker if they can shift a few squad players, making them strong contenders to win their first Premier League crown in 21 years at 5/2 with Coral, Ladbrokes and Betway.
But tellingly, Bet Victor have opened a book on who will be the Gunners' next manager, with Simone Inzaghe the favourite at 4/1 and Diego Simone 10/1 as it increasingly looks like it's win or bust for Mikel.
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