As of writing, Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle for the signing of Viktor Gyökeres and are reportedly putting the finishing touches on a move that could reach €73.5 million. Depending on when you are reading this, a medical may already be scheduled following a rapid breakthrough in talks between the two clubs in recent days.
After initially playing hard ball, it seems Sporting have now relented to Andrea Berta’s demands, much to the delight of the Arsenal support.
Looking at the player, there is little doubt Gyökeres is an elite number nine capable of scoring 25 to 30 goals in all competitions for the Gunners, if not more. That said, there are still a few concerns about aspects of his game. So without wasting time, here are three pros and three cons of signing Viktor Gyökeres.
Pros
Ball striking on both feet
The Swedish international will bring a quality that is currently missing in Arsenal’s forward line. Gyökeres strikes the ball with conviction on either foot, and he is not afraid to shoot from difficult angles. His shot power is matched by impressive accuracy, averaging 2.12 shots on target per 90 (99th percentile) from 4.08 total shots. A centre-forward with that level of ball-striking ability could add a new dimension to Mikel Arteta’s attack.
Relentless running and ball carrying
Weighing around 94kg and standing at 6ft 2in, you might expect Gyökeres to lack agility, but that could not be further from the truth. He is a powerful and direct runner, constantly looking to exploit space in behind and pressing relentlessly from the front. His 4.27 progressive carries per 90 (99th percentile) and 1.93 successful take-ons per 90 (98th percentile) illustrate his threat in transition. He is a handful in open play, even if he can sometimes be dispossessed during long carries.
Elite mentality
This is something the stats do not capture. Gyökeres’ rise over the past two years has been remarkable and a reminder that player development is not always linear. After early struggles in his career, the Swede has shown incredible character and work ethic to force his way to the top. His hunger to join Arsenal speaks volumes. He plays with a visible desire to score goals and fight for every ball, a mentality Arsenal fans will love.
Cons
Aerial ability
This is a concern, especially considering Arsenal’s style of play. Gyökeres has yet to show real dominance in the air despite his size. For more detail on this area of his game, see our previous article that looks into his aerial shortcomings.
Technically clunky at times
While Gyökeres has racked up an impressive 26 assists over two seasons for Sporting, there are still technical limitations to his game. He can be let down by a heavy first touch or take too long to release the ball. He was dispossessed 1.77 times per 90 last season, ranking only in the 22nd percentile for centre-forwards. In the fast-paced Premier League, this could become a problem if he does not adjust quickly.
Unproven in a major league
Gyökeres’ stats are impressive, but most of his goals have come in Liga Portugal. Of his 97 goals for Sporting, around 70 percent were scored in the domestic league, with 11 more in European competition. The Premier League represents a significant step up, and not all players make the transition smoothly from Portuguese football. His ability to replicate those numbers in England remains to be seen.
Out of the three concerns, which one worries you most, Gooners?
Let us know in the comments.
Benjamin Kenneth
__________________________________________________________________________________________
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Haalaad is tall but terrible in the air, and technically he is not up there, his passes are like that if a academy player, but he’s killing it in the EPL, and this is a team a midfielder who only played 9 in his academy days scored 9 goals in 12 games, Gyokeres will succeed EPL goals alone 20 to 25 goals, without any serious injury
COYG.
Haaland terrible in the air? The same guy who scores near acrobatic headers? He’s a beast in the air. Can’t think of any current striker bar maybe Lewandoski who’s better than him in that regard.
How many goals has haaland scored with his head, no one is expecting gyokeres to score acrobatic goal like Zaltan or haaland, Haaland is a fantastic football I love the type of striker he his, but if he scores 100 goals 2 of does goals are with his head, an they will be tap in headers like saka types
Per FBRref, 48th percentile aerial ability for forwards in the top 5 leagues. Not terrible, but half the strikers in Europe are better than him. Havertz is 76th percentile, Sesko 71st, Gyokeres….17th. Ah well….so much for getting on the end of Martinelli’s 93rd percentile crossing.
Haalaad is tall but terrible in the air, and technically he is not up there, his passes are like that of an academy player, but he’s killing it in the EPL, and this is a team a midfielder who only played 9 in his academy days scored 9 goals in 12 games, Gyokeres will succeed EPL goals alone 20 to 25 goals, without any serious injury
COYG.
I’m worried about the following aspects, because Arteta’s slow build-up and high ball-possession tactics aren’t suitable for a pacey counter-attacking striker like Aubameyang and Vardy:
– Aerial ability (remember about Aubameyang’s)
– Hold-up play (remember about Aubameyang’s)
– Goal tally inflated by penalties and free-kicks (remember about Pepe’s inflated stats in France)
I hope Gyokeres will be physically-dominant enough to handle EPL CBs or maybe he’ll play LW ahead of Martinelli
Every player has flaws. It is upon Arteta and his technical team to use tactics that capitalize on the strengths of the player while minimizing his flaws. You can minimize the flaws tactically or by having players around him who complement his skillset.
Even Rice, who is world class in my eyes has a flaw in his game- he’s not the most press resistant midfielder. He can’t receive the ball on the half turn and face play. This is why you pair him with someone like Zubimendi who is elite at that. Likewise, Zubimendi doesn’t have the athleticism to cover ground like Rice.
At the back, Saliba isn’t as dominant in the air as Gabriel. And Gabriel isn’t as good a passer as Saliba. I could go on and on. Point is, players complement each other,create partnerships and cancel each other’s flaws.
PS: Gyokeres might just get the best out of Martinelli. He likes to drift to the left , which will allow Martinelli to come central on occasion. This is similar to what Martinelli did with Jesus.
Good observations!
Only time will tell
We need to give him some time
I hope we get him and he plays great for us
At 27 he needs no training on how to play as a striker it’s up to Arteta to get the best out of him and not change his game ,he’s been bought to score goals ,let him do his job and we should have a good season .
No you are wrong. One of things that made Henry great was he adapted his runs for different players. Knowing where best to be te receive the ball. This will need to be learnt. A job for all players and the manager. Seems like your are already looking to blame Arteta if things go wrong 🤣
Great response buddy ,what I would expect TBH .
So you expect a manager who was poor midfielder telling a seasoned striker how to perform.
Henry was 20-21 when he came here and was raw ,our greatest manager got the best out of him ,how on earth you’ve just compared both players is beyond me .
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Henry was amazing. He said he became better by learning what the other players around he do when on the ball. My point was that he will have to adapt just like the great Henry did. For you to sujest otherwise is crazy. I’d take Hery word on how to be a better striker that you any day.
Mate give up ,completely just made a comparison that didn’t need doing ,for the sake of given Arteta a bum up .
Go back and reread what you posted and then reread again and reread again .
Come back to me when you have a valid argument.
It’s not just down to Arteta to get the best out of him. Gyokeres himself will have to learn and adapt to his new team mates and vice versa. A combined effort on all fronts, player and manager. Fact 👍
Maybe change your handle to @gunnerarteta .
You changing yours to @blameArteta?
Again ,how you came to that is beyond me .
I agree with you Dan. If he eventually come to arsenal, he is primarily bought to score goals. But my fear is that, the coach may want him to play the arteta way. That is, teaching him to pass ball around instead of shooting just to frustrate him and make him as a failure. Remember, Arteta do not really want him. He prefers Sesko.
It worries me most that we still haven’t signed him and aren’t apparently close yet either.
To ya all… as a Swede I can give you some guarantees;
Gyokeres will do his medical on Friday
Gyokeres is a level better than Isak and will be a success (it’s been clear in our national team)
Gyokeres is a HUGE Arsenal fan since childhood, and loves Arsenal, -hence why he sacrificed 2 million pounds to join Arsenal.
As a childhood fan he will play with heart, so make sure to welcome him!
Arsenal4Ever, thanks for the encouraging insight.👍
Comparing the national team goal ratios for Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak:
Viktor Gyökeres:
Caps: 26
Goals: 15
Goal Ratio: 15÷26≈0.577 goals per game
Alexander Isak:
Caps: 52
Goals: 16
Goal Ratio: 16÷52≈0.308 goals per game
Sounds awesome. Just need Arsenal to get this DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think some people can’t live with the fact that we are not signing their favourite Sesko
If Arteta and the coaches work on his aerial ability to get the best out of him, I think we will have the best striker in the world. We will be the strongest contenders for the PL and possibly even the CL.
I do not understand this talk about Portugese league as monor. CR7, Deco, Bruno Fernandez and a lot of other good players came from the league and hit the ground running. Does it really matter whether he scores with his head or leg?what matters to us fans is for him to get us the goals every week. Arsenal has other technically gifted players. All we need right now is goals. Haaland is no way near beign technically good. All we are saying is, get us Gyokeres. Sign him and give him a chance to prove his worth.
Completely agree. Everyone is commenting about his poor heading ability because he only scored a few headers in the last campaign. That’s down to the style of play adopted by Sporting. The headers he has scored were banging. There’s videos online of his goals but it seems no one’s bothered to watch them and just trust the narrative. He can definitely score with his head and I can’t wait to celebrate every one of his goals ❤️🤍
When people talk about a lack of buildup play, I ask myself, do they not realize that the point of buildup play is to work the ball to reach the back of the net? Why are we buying the hottest striker on the market? Yes, to reach the back of the net.
I’ll add, I don’t care if Gyokeres scores with his bum or if he gets deflections along with taking our penalties, I don’t care so long as he reaches 20 league goals
As he himself said he wants to avenge not only Brighton who sold him out but the EPL itself as no club threw a safety net from expulsion. I checked the fixture list and I’m dismayed the game v Brighton is too far. How’s he injury wise? Likes seeing cards? Solely focus on football not social media antics as we’re now seeing with Yamal and Garnacho? His language skills helping him to intermingle with the players instantly?
Yamal is doing okay to be fair lol
We’ve needed a quality striker for the past 3 years so hopefully Gyokeres signs. What happens to Havertz?
I think Havertz will get minutes up front when Gyokores is rested and rotate midfield with Merino. I think our midfield will be Ode, Zuba and Rice with Merino and Havertz covering them mainly. Hope to see Nanweri getting more opportunities as well as Ode’s backup.
I really wish we had this group of players last season—despite all the red cards, injuries, and decisions that went against us, I believe we would have won the league. There’s no question about the quality of the new signings we’ve made/yet to make; they definitely add depth to the squad.
However, I’m still not sure we’re quite at the level of teams like Liverpool or City after their share of new players bought in, and now Chelsea have also bolstered their attack. The new signings will need time to settle in and adapt to the current system—or potentially a new one—which means the whole squad will need time to gel.
Im not crazy about this signing we’ll just have to see how it goes. My honest and probably unpopular opinion is that Ekitike will score more goals at Liverpool.
imo, if Gyokeres is able to adapt well to the increased demands of the PL, he will score more than Ekitike; but the £63.5m question is will the adjustment be too big. His results changed dramatically back when he joined Coventry at 21 y/o. Did he mature to the point where he was ready for the PL even before Sporting? We’ll see.