Arsenal are currently leading the race to sign Swedish international Viktor Gyökeres, but have yet to finalise a deal with Sporting CP. Despite agreeing personal terms with the striker, negotiations between the two clubs have reportedly stalled, with Sporting standing firm on their valuation.
This delay has prompted former Premier League striker Troy Deeney to question whether Arsenal are truly convinced by Gyökeres as the solution to their striking issues.
Deeney casts doubt over Arsenal’s conviction
Speaking on TalkSPORT’s Kick Off show, the ex-Watford captain expressed his scepticism:
“I don’t think they’re sold on Gyökeres. I really don’t.”
Deeney then compared Arsenal’s approach to Liverpool’s swift deal for Florian Wirtz, a signing that could reportedly rise to £116 million. He suggested that if Arsenal were fully sold on Gyökeres, the deal would already be done.
“Because you’d just go and get him, you get it done (if Arsenal were really keen),” he said.
“The same way that Liverpool did with Wirtz, [they] just went: ‘Bang, go and get him, get it finished.’ I think they’re worried that he’s not, not only the short-term answer, but not the long-term answer.”
Is Arteta’s stubbornness holding things back?
Deeney also suggested that Mikel Arteta’s own personality might be complicating matters:
“This is my opinion – I think Arteta is a little bit stubborn at this moment in time because everyone’s been calling for it [to sign a striker]. If he does that and then wins it [the Premier League], it’s going to be like: ‘Oh, we told you that’.
“It’s not going to be his thing. There’s a little element of stubbornness and [a feeling of]: ‘We could do it our way’. I find it interesting that we’re seeing more talk with Madueke – that looks like it’s closer to being done than the strikers.”
Arsenal’s need for a conventional number nine has been clear for some time. Although the club explored the market in the summer of 2024, they ultimately pulled back after missing out on Benjamin Šeško.
With strong links this summer to traditional centre-forwards, including Gyökeres, a different outcome appears more likely. Still, as ever, things can change quickly in the transfer window.
What do you make of Troy Deeney’s comments? Do you think Arteta could be the issue? Your opinions in the comments are much appreciated!
Benjamin Kenneth
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Deeney mentions Liverpool’s deal for Wirtz appears quicker, but we shouldn’t forget they had two offers rejected before the third was accepted so there was clearly quite a lot of negotiations before final agreement.
Each transfer is different though. Some are very quick, others very slow and most somewhere in between, I guess. The Gyokeres deal, if it goes ahead, is probably going to fall into the second category by the time it’s done. However, there is still adequate time to complete it and others.
Yeah, the problem is Sporting’s new transfer boss backed himself into a corner where if he gives a inch he will feel like he lost face to his own fans
I don’t think comparing Liverpool and Wirtz with us trying to sign Gykores is relevant at all. Arsenal went after Rice.
Not every transfer is simple. The so called gentleman’s agreement wasn’t. As far as I can tell, if Arsenal aren’t intending to sign Gykores, why would Berta spend the weekend negotiating in Portugal? There appears no be a stumbling block regarding the set up of the contract.
I can’t believe that Arteta is being stubborn on this issue. He maybe on some issues but he has a sporting director taking care of it and the buck, in this instance, stops with him.
I think Arteta has done his job of attracting the player. The financial / contractual aspects are left to the club (Berta).
I bet be spoke to the player and made his pitch that the player bought into.
It’ been widely reported that Gyökeres rejected / told the likes of Man United and Juventus this his wish is to play for Arsenal from the start of 2025/26 season.
Same as the Declan Rice transfer. He rejected Pep / Man City because his heart was set on Arsenal. The rest was left to the club (Edu).
Things were spoilt when we didn’t sign Delap for 30m. This Gyokeres is he two times and half better than Delap? 70m v 30m. I surely don’t think so. Dealp knows the league better than Gyo. Delap plays longer years with increasing maturity. Imagine what Chelsea will do with 3 no. 9s Pedro Jackson and Delap. Arsenal don’t have 1. It might be difficult but not impossible (Chelsea are erratic in transfers) if we approach Chelsea asap to sell us Delap in money plus Nwaneri deal.
Chelsea signed Joao Pedro as the first choice striker and Delap will be second choice, comparing both of them to Gyokeres might look like trying to mix water and paraffin Pedro has lots of experience in epl Delap come from championship just like Gyokeres some years back but Gyokeres is a much better striker and remember arsenal have Havertz and Jesus who is injured as of now as back ups.
What the hell are you on about. Why would we get rid of Nwaneri, it’s totel nonsense
Nobody could beat Chelsea’s seven-year contract offer for Delap
@Ambachew
But please reassure me that you are just trolling here.
Please. 🤞🙏
I really don’t get why Arteta doesn’t step in and make the transfer happen. Personally I think Berta wants Gyokeres but Arteta is having a tantrum and throwing his rattle out of the cot and doesn’t want Gyokeres. We all see how emotional Arteta is on the touchline. Personally I think Gyokeres is very much who we need and I am beginning to see Arteta as a nearly man. I don’t think he can lead us to the gold of the EPL….he’ll always come 2nd.
I’m sure Arsenal are worried about Gyokeres’ age and aerial ability compared to his price tag
His productivity was inflated by his penalties and free-kicks, which he wouldn’t get at Arsenal
They might’ve also seen how the other CFs like Bas Dost, Darwin Nunez and Goncalo Ramos flopped when playing in other leagues
You sound as if it’s easy to score through free kicks. People also miss penalties often so don’t give me that please.
Don’t you think that any potential player speaks to the manager before they make the move?
Don’t you think that Arteta assured Gyökeres that he wants him hence why he has been making noise in the media about only wanting to play for Arsenal?
Why would a player be willing to go on strike againsts his club in order to force a move to a specific club when he has not been assured that he is wanted?
The way Gyökeres has been and continues to act tells me that Arteta and Berta buttered him up so good the he is willing to give up €2 million of his wages. He is willing to refuse to return for preseason etc.
Gives me the Fabregas to Barcelona vibes..
Comments like yours shows how deluded and bias people can get towards people they do not really appreciate. If Berta is the one that wants Gyo, why would he need Arteta to step in? Confused commentary! Berta should have gone all out to get the player he prefers as the sporting director.
This is such a terrible take.
Gyokeres desperately wants to come – after speaking with Arteta. Berta is playing it as he should.
The problem isn’t with us here.
You don’t know what is going on internally
OT: From BBC website:
“Crystal Palace have been demoted to the Conference League next season with Nottingham Forest set to replace them in the Europa League, Uefa have ruled.
The governing body’s decision stems from Palace breaching its multi-club ownership rules.”
Wow! The possible transfer of Eze even more likely now?
You really have to feel sorry for them even though they’re more likely to get further in the Conference League
I really feel for Palace and their fans here. It’s really unfair. Such a bloody letdown by UEFA. It would have been amazing for them to play in the Europa League!
That will have zero bearings
Funny how Manchester City played in the Champions League along with Gerona who if I’m not mistaken are affiliated with City.
One rule for one and different rules for everyone else me thinks.
I hope Palace appeal and win it.
“One rule for one and different rules for everyone else me thinks” – except isn’t in this case, unfortunately.
Apparently, the group that controls both clubs put their shares in Girona into a blind trust overseen by a panel appointed by UEFA thereby circumventing, perfectly legally, the dual ownership regulations.
If there’s a legitimate, legal, loophole, their team of highly paid lawyers will find it and use it. I think we would expect Arsenal to do the same, wouldn’t we.
Bertie,
Thank you for correcting me.👍
I still hope Palace appeal and win though. 🤷♂️
Genuinely couldn’t care less what Troy Deeney thinks. He has no insight, no special knowledge, and a fairly rudimentary grasp on the English language. He’s spouting nonsense, no different to a comment from a random nobody on an internet forum. Not worth reporting on.
100%. He’s not worth the time of day. His “team of the week” is/was always laughable.
Well, at least he didn’t accuse Arsenal of having no cojones on this time.
Agreed
Gyokeres himself is reportedly not happy with Sporting to the extent that he has not reported for pre season yet. From what I understand,Gyokeres had a gentleman’s agreement with Sporting to leave for a certain fee. Arsenal has reportedly exceeded this figure and Sporting are still not playing ball.
That said, Berta is experienced enough and I’m sure he’ll get it done. The club should not overpay just because fans are desperate/impatient. Negotiations like this take time, unlike the Madueke one which must have been easier given Chelsea needed to sell so as not to breach PSR.
I agree with a lot of that. The difference, apparently, between the two sides on the money is on the amount to be paid “up front” as the fee, and possibly later on (in performance bonuses).
Regarding the “gentleman’s agreement”, unless that’s backed up with supporting evidence (a third-party witness etc.) it isn’t really a factor because Sporting are denying it.
Bertie, but if Gyokeres believes it, then we can see why he’s acting the way he is.
I can’t see SL entertaining him back at the club after what’s been said by both parties and his it’s up to Berta to seal the deal now.
My reaction would be the same as Gyokeres’ and I would never play for SL again. Unfortunately, true integrity often takes a back seat to monetary gain.
The trouble with Troy Deeney is he has always been jealous of Arsenal, he was miffed that we never wanted to buy him when he was playing. It was simple, he wasn’t good enough for Arsenal. That’s why he always runs Arsenal down.
Chelsea side believes Madueke did not progress as expected after he joined (his Club world cup performance seems to confirm this), so they are willing to let him go. The bigger question is why we are paying 50M+ to get another Chelsea flop (almost the same price as Kudus and not too far from the rumored price of Eze) from our rival club. One explanation is that there is a potential of collusion between the two clubs where Madueke’s price tag is just a financial deal under the table between the two owners to help with Chelsea’s financial health. Just saw an article bragging about Chelsea’s shrewd financial operations with respect to the money they made from club world cup and Madueke transfer (Chelsea stands to make about 25M+).
When our club says this is independent of Eze deal, it may suggest that this really is under the owner’s pressure to greenlight other transactions. Yes, this is unfounded and a speculation of conspiracy by a fan who has no special inside information. Why would MA want a player who is not a priority and demands a high price tag where other options are available and the very money fund our rivals.
Maybe, just maybe, MA is so cocky that he thinks whatever skill deficiencies Madueke has can be trained and drastically improved by our club. Be that as it may, why the price tag? Alternatively, our transfer department is so soft? Wait, aren’t we still haggling on the Gyokeres deal and playing tough?
Only time will tell us what the reality is. As someone who started following this club since the 90s, I cannot wait to see our club raising the silverware. MA can leave if he messes up the upcoming season, but what I truly care is where our club will be given the arms race by our rival clubs.
So, to boil your post down, you don’t like Arteta, you think we’re buying another chelsea flop for too much, you think the club should give the money SL are asking for Gyokeres?
Yes, I think we are buying another chelsea flop for too much, same with Havertz, I think both are over priced. Madueke around 30M is more reasonable to me. Honestly, we should not be talking about him now, Eze/Rodrigo and Gyokeres are way higher priorities than Madueke.
Where do you get I do not like Arteta is beyond me, that may be a reflection of your own zesty affinity to MA. I appreciate what MA achieved for our club but obviously, the result is not there.
I think what SL is asking, if really as reported where the player scarified 2M and the real difference is a 5M in payment structure, should be an resolvable issue. But my major issue is about our swiftness in getting Madueke at a price tag that seems unreasonable to me.
While the fee for Madueke may seem unreasonably to you, The Arsenal obviously see it as ok. Otherwise they wouldn’t be prepared to pay it.
I surely know that our club is willing to pay for that, same as Mourinho gave Sanchez the 500k weekly salary and Mudryk’s 100M (with add on) transfer price. Willingness to pay by a club seems to be a good criteria for valuation.
I may be naive but I fee like Havertz is going to surprise people this year since Arteta had him use his latest injury to bulk up..center backs won’t be so successful shoving him to the ground this year me thinks…but as a back up I think we could do a lot worse
Yeah, Havertz’ new physical buildup seems to promise something new for us. I hope he can succeed in this coming season and prove many of us wrong.
You people are funny,the chances of Havertz succeeding are same as us winning the EPL!
You are carrying on like you actually have inside information when you obviously don’t
The going rate for decent Premier League wingers starts at about 50m this year. Kudus, 55m. Elanga, 55m. It’s crazy out there. Anyone else you can think of better as a plausible backup for both Saka and Martinelli for 30m?
It is until when it comes to Arsenal.
Why start negotiations for a player you don’t see is suitable to your need? You end up frustrating the player. And this is likely too destroy you future reputation. A difference of 10ml. for a player in question is not too much money to stop signing him, I think. Maybe there are some other reasons we don’t know.
Paul yeah I share your last lines “maybe there are some other reasons we don’t know”. In fact if it is the case 10m is still a big difference. Nunes came to Liverpool from the other Lisbon team Benfica for more tham 80m but did we find him as we were told about him? The media hype couldn’t give England any trophy after 1966.
To the headline> B0££0
Cks
Arsenal will never be Chelsea in the transfer market.
CFC willingness to part company with players they just signed in order to improve is how you build a champion. Maresca is more likely to get more trophies in shorter time that MA project which if nothing comes next year will disintegrate since players will look for honors elsewhere. I have been watching AFC for 3 decades only to frustrate myself every transfer window. We let players run contracts down sell our best buy second rate and expect to win silverware. the probability of that is slim to none. A great summer window with potential to win lots of trophies would have been :
Zubimendi/Partey or Norgaard/Rodrygo/Eze/Gyokeres/maybe Noguiera too. I can winn the league with this team.
Yet for the third season running, we have finished above chelsea in the PL and haven’t lost to them home or away and thrashed them 5-0 at the Emirates!!
Surely, if the chavs are selling players they just bought, it doesn’t say much for their scouting team and long term vision?
They had one of the most amazing young players when they gazumped us for Mudryk and look how they have ruined his footballing career.
Let’s see how they match up to PSG and compare their performance to our two CL games.
👍Ken. The grass is always greener…
BB we have some interesting and differing opinions within JA, but this obsession with how the chavs conduct themselves is something else!!
To think they were hours away from going out of business just ten years ago!!
Most of us surely didn’t see enough of Gyokeres, we just know him afar and by media hype. In fact he was there unresponsive when Arsenal scored loads of goals against his team. If he comes OK, if not we’ll not be that worse so long as we get Madueke and the two revitalised strikers in Havertz and Jesus in good shape. The problem is the Academy of Mertsacker has not produced a viable competitive option. Gyokeres might be the over hyped one. Man Utd said a lot about their no.9 Hojlund who they bought from Atalanta but what he produced is history. Arsenal’s problem is not only scorer but provider and Madueke alleviates that ailment competing with Saka. Don’t totally discount both Havertz and Jesus. Gyokeres’ age, goal profile, over price, alien to the league, over eagerness to join, Arsenal’s un impressive connection with Portuguese league (Vieira) cast doubt over his transfer. At least let’s defer it until January by which time things will become clearer. Arteta may have found out a reason to delay Gyo’s transfer and it may not be money wise. If Gyo is too eager until boycott why we go in their financial terms? Which top flight clubs in Europe bid earnestly to sign Gyo?
OMG…..once again no striker. No wonder we are second at everything. Unbelievably wonky reasoning.
I believe all of us Arsenal fans love our team to the bone,to the heart,we have it by the sleeve and we want our team to succeed signing players is always a very complex issue involving 3 parties
1. The player and their representatives in this case Madueke/his agent and Gyokeres/ his agent from reports arsenal have agreed personal terms with both players
2.The seller in this case Chelsea and Sporting CP Arsenal has also agreed a fees with teams for the aforementioned players Chelsea bought Madueke for 35M and are selling him for 50M he’s 23yrs old and a decent player but books must be balanced to meet PSR rules for Arsenal this is an England international meaning we are improving on our homegrown quarter and we are also getting a player who’s going to improve and has a higher ceiling for his resale value to go up if all factors work in our favour therefore it’s a calculated risk,for Gyokeres the issue is about the money paid upfront and the bonuses that’s where the variation is I believe it’s the reason why Berta was hired and we should allow him do his job coz at the end of the day he also takes orders from the owner who’s going to fund the transfer so they have to give the greenlight
3.The third party is the buying team who’s owners fund the transfers and have to agree to all the monetary deals based on the advices they get from their financial advisers
N/B if reports are true Madueke is coming in as Trossard’s replacement who’s 30 yrs old anyway Madueke is 23 yrs and MA believes he can improve his number’s in G’s and A’s await and see kind of game
Arsenal have saved so much from releasing Partey,Joginho,Tierney,Tavares just to mention a few this players were on high wages that have been removed from the wage bill we must stay calm,and allow due process to take place and if by the time the transfer window is closed we don’t significant improvement in the playing unit then we have every right to question MA and his technical staff until then let’s give them time to do their job
Also signing a big name player doesn’t guarantee us that they will hit the ground running win us the trophies we want Gyokeres can come in and be a success or a flop and all the fingers will still be pointed to M A but I am sure by the end of the transfer window Gyokeres will be an arsenal player
Madueke is a good buy just that the price is a bit too much. 40mil or less would have been Ok.
And please can we stop saying that “Chelsea ruined mudryk’s career” which is totally false. He choose to do drugs and should be held responsible not anyone or Chelsea. Because I would be mad if someone says “Arsenal ruined party’s career ” which is also false because he should be held responsible for his actions not the club. Let’s separate fanatism from realism.
We must conclude the Gyokeres deal quickly! Pay the extra 5 or 10 mill they want and just be done with it. The risk of not signing a striker in this window is just too high and almost guarantees we will win nothing next season. Get Gyokeres in right now so that he can be ready for the first game of the season. Yes it is bad to overpay but it is Arteta who has put as in this super terrible negotiating position by refusing to sign strikers year in year out. Of course we are desperate, we have been set up to be desperate! However, if winning trophies next season is not a priority then by all means we can drag out the Gyokeres transfer and even cancel it over 5 mill.
Jackson with a price tag of 100m? With this price Jackson will forever be a Chelsea player.
ambachew,
I don’t know, with Jacksons price being put at £100M. Arsenal may just see that as a bargain, and maybe just can’t resist the lure of another bargain bucket buy from Chelsea.😂🤣👍
Oh we just love a West London shopping spree, Derek 🤪 If we are to proceed, it will be completed in no time, like every other Chav purchase is! All to do with the ‘good relations’ between the clubs 😆 Just not the fanbases – I can’t stand them 👍
Morning Sue,
Yes your right we do love a West London shopping spree.
I wonder if Fulham have any bargains?. 😂👍
Well, there’s always Leno, Iwobi, ESR and Willian is now a free agent 😂
Sue,
👍👍👍👍👍😂🍺CHEERS.
OH! just to add to my last post. I notice that we’ve just signed Ryan Bertrand’s son Marcel Washington. A young fullback, from yes you’ve guessed it. CHELSEA!.🤣👍
Can we find in Armoury half Arsenal and half Chelsea scarf to commemorate the new found friendship? It would be a most suitable item esp on the day of the ‘friendship Chelsenal derby’. The owners may have kinship as both are Americans. AGM of the clubs needs to be held together in a neutral luxury hall.
A bit OT but Scoutnation has put up a Madueke skills and goals video and he looks like the new Messi, Maduessi.. 😃 😅
Hey QD! But don’t they say anyone can look good on YT?! 😆 I just had a quick butcher’s – he does look pretty good 😂
@Sue
Hi! yeah, those YT compilations are just shots of pure hopium 😅
😂
Maduessi will surely show us his skills I don’t doubt him. With Maduessi no more fretting every time Saka is fouled. Will he wear no.10 or is it reserved to Eze? The midfield is fearsome really the power house and dynamite of the team. With these skilled midfielders even a rookie striker can score two digit goals.
Troy Deeny ?, he doesn’t know what he is talking about most of the time