What a mystery Arsenal’s search for a top striker has been.
The entire footballing world knows Arsenal are set to bring one in as it’s clear that signing a top striker could be the final piece in Mikel Arteta’s evolving project.
While only one of Viktor Gyökeres or Benjamin Šeško is expected to join, Arsenal’s preferred target remains their best-kept secret.
Those backing Gyökeres have received subtle hints that he is the one, just as those favouring Šeško have found signs in their favour.
For a moment, it seemed Gyökeres was winning the race. But the latest from The Mirror might suggest otherwise.
Gyökeres sends Manchester United a transfer plea
The 27-year-old goal machine, fresh off a stunning season with 54 goals in 52 games, has reportedly sent word to Manchester United that he is open to joining them.
The report claims the Swede is coming to terms with the reality that his best chance this summer may be to reunite with former manager Rúben Amorim.
According to the report, intermediaries have contacted United on the player’s behalf to let Amorim and INEOS know he is ready to move to Old Trafford.
If a move to Arsenal were guaranteed, one has to wonder why he would bother giving United such assurances.
Perhaps, behind the scenes, Gyökeres has picked up signals that he is not Arsenal’s first choice.
As determined as he is to leave Sporting, missing out on a move to Arsenal would be a bitter pill to swallow.
It was always going to be Šeško or Gyökeres
Unfortunately for Gyökeres, Arsenal were never likely to sign two strikers.
There was always a chance they would opt for Šeško instead and he extending an olive branch to United might just confirm that suspicion.
It remains to be seen whether United will act on that transfer plea, but for Arsenal, the focus now seems to be on what Šeško can offer.
Still raw, Mikel Arteta and his technical staff will need to polish him into the ruthless number nine they believe he can become.
Because overlooking a proven goal scorer like Gyökeres for a less prolific prospect like Šeško does take some nerve, doesn’t it?
Daniel O
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I’m so tired of speculating regarding who is coming in. It’s doing my head in.
I have told myself to not even read these articles about these two, but I keep doing so hoping for some sort of credible source, but never happens!
What is wrong with arsenal the same every year go for someone but won’t pay asking price
Arteta always wants a project buy Gyökeres and we win the league don’t and it’ll be Artetas lot
Winning the league is so very simple innit? Nope.
Gyokeres joining our side of itself doesn’t render Man City, Liverpool or any of the others as duds. Anyone who knows the prem knows beating the Lancashire based teams over a season isn’t straight forward as you’re suggesting. Last time i looked Lpool and Citeh were proved lethal in the final third than us – sadly. Gyokeres alone changes nowt.
Some tried this excuse in January
No we don’t know with any attacker if that’s enough to win title
But we know with what we currently have it won’t be enough
Spot on Dan.
We need to see a big spend so as to compete with the Reds and with Citeh. But like iv said in previous posts our spend would have to be 200-250M to convince me of bein 95% nearer a title.
For the time being we’re in the conversation, its largely due to our ‘noteworthy’ rear guard.
You would have to believe that Arsenal have already signed either Sesko or Gyokeres.
If that’s not the case they don’t deserve to get a top striker .
Liverpool identified a top midfielder and they just went and paid £115 million for him without any haggling .
Even Man Utd went and signed a top striker and paid £65 million .
Why do Arsenal always have to drag things out when they are the best positioned club financially to get there man .
Always the same.
Ray, Liverpool did indeed have to haggle with Bayer Leverkusen, as at least once the Dippers had offers for Wirtz rejected. They finally got him after upping their offer to £116m.
As for the delay in us signing a CF, who knows what the problem is. Could it be the likes of RBL and SL asking for more money ? Could they be trying to get a replacement before agreeing to sell their CFs ? As I said, who knows.
Yeah all this talk of how “easy” Wirtz was to get is likely people who only saw the sale headlines and are frustrated that we haven’t bought a statement center forward.
Anyone paying attention knows it took Liverpool 3 months of negotiations, and they still ended up paying just under the asking price for Wirtz at a club record outlay – by £40m!!
Imagine the outrage in the fan base if we paid £62.5m for Cunha and he was our only striker signing? (Lol @ ManUtd).
It wasn’t easy. Liverpool made three offers for Wirtz in total.
I think it’s more about how they went about it. Liverpool clearly identified Wirtz as their primary target and negotiated calmly, but obviously persistently, until they got him at a price within their limit so you could say that was a successful negotiation overall.
Another point to note is that given the frequency of their other signings so far, the club can clearly negotiate effectively on several fronts at the same time, not something that Arsenal has managed particularly well in the past.
But Liverpool were not a club who were under as much pressure as us to fly out of this window
It Shows How Unserious And Less Ambitious They Are.
Always Making Football Transfers Seem Difficult Whereas Other Serious Clubs Are Pulling The Strings Here And There.
Can we have both Gyokeres and sesko as our strikers since we have enough money to spend and we shall be competing in epl and champions league
I’m leaning heavily to yokeres now, I think sheshko has far greater chance of being a dud signing.
just seems like yokky has already gone through the schooling years and his time for the big stage is right now.
Ils vont recruter, c’est sûr
Probablement SESKO, mais GYOKERES ferait aussi l’affaire.
On peut terminer 1 er, mais aussi bien 2 ou 3. Il y a plusieurs clubs qui veulent être 1er !!!
AUDUREAU,
That’s easy for you to say.🤣😂👍
Haha… It would honestly be impossible for me to say without the help of something like Google Translate…
Highlight the text and choose to ‘translate’.
Bergkampfwagen,
I tried what waal2waal advised and it’s now been translated into English I hope you can see.
Thank you waal2waal, I’ve learnt something new today because of you, I appreciate your help.
Every day’s a school day, as they say. 👍
I know how to use Google Translate, thanks. I was just making a joke about my lack of French skills and that I would need to use it to understand what the poster was saying!
Bergkampfwagen,
I stand corrected. OOPS!🤦♂️
@Derek
I got the joke – and laughed along with you. Only added some assistance for those that perhaps did not get it 🙂
He makes a valid point to be fair
There is one truly ‘proven’ scorer on the market this summer; Victor Osimhen. Arsenal’s lack of interest seems likely tied to Mikel Arteta’s proven inability to manage players with robust personalities, which Osimhen definitely has.
Liam Delap seemed like he might be an interesting choice; he scored 12 Premier League goals for a truly woeful Ipswich side. Her had a low release clause, so it was interesting to see Arsenal not throw so much as a sidelong glance at him.
Victor Gyokeres has scored a lot, but in Portugal, a league of much lower competitive standing than the Premier League.
Benjamin Sesko 22, has scored 13, 14, and 16 league goals in the past 3 Bundesligsa, seasons. He has actually gotten worse as he’s gotten older, which is not particularly encouraging.
Jonathan David is the second most proven scorer in a top league, with 16, 19, 24, and 15 league goals in the last four seasons for Lille in Ligue 1. Her’s still only 25, so plenty of time to continue improving. He is also available on a free transfer, which makes not at least considering him, odd.
Hugo Ekitike is another young Ligue 1 star that has generated interest, but Arsenal have not been linked with him in more than a cursory fashion.
There were also a handful of proven Premier League scorers on the market.
Brentford’s Brian Mbuemo (20 goals) and Youane Wisser (19 goals) were overlooked. Mbuemo is only 25 and prolific, though he is more of a wing player. Wisser is a poacher, but at 28 is a finished article, not a rough diamond needing polish.
Finally, there is Ollie Watkins, who is the most proven Premier League striker available for purchase. At 29 he is closer to the end than the beginning of his football career, but he has scored 16, 19, 15, 11, and 14 goals per season for the last five seasons for Aston Villa. Not a super star, but a reliable goal scorer likely to be as or more productive than players with similar numbers in lesser leagues.
An intriguing idea is Jamie Vardy, who turned Arsenal down after winning the title at Leicester. He is leaving the Foxes after their relegation, but wants to keep playing top-tier football. If Arsenal were to sign one of the above players, and Vardy as a late-game goal chaser, it would add a dimension to their counter-attacking play the side currently lacks.
While there is more to choosing a striker than the numbers of goals they score and assists they tally, at the end of the day, a striker’s value is determined by their ability to score. To date, Arsenal’s interest seems to favor players who might make them better as opposed to players who will make them better. Odd, after being the bridesmaid for three straight seasons.
So why ain’t any other clubs scrambling for this Osimhen guy that you lot keep harping on about?
Can’t the managers at Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern, Barcelona etc also deal with strong personalities such as Osimhen? Because I am yet to see anyone trying to sign him.
You the Osimhen fans seem to know better than all the managers across Europe.
Isn’t it?
Because Liverpool, Bayern , Barca are Champions and have an attack way you weigh it up don’t need to invest big fees / wages on
Arsenal do need to do that
To me we are toothless dogs financially in project of EPL , no seriousness at all, every season provoking about that no. 9 from sporting, I’d think management will do it .am now 30+ being fun of arsenal of Trophy less we need five more good players , we need strong and modern defender 4, arteta we need 🇹🇿🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆2026. Do what PSG did.
Goonster, I’ve also said previously the same as you about Osimhen.
I’d also say regarding Jonathan David, how it’s strange how no club outside of France never got him to sign a pre-contract in January, seeing as he only had 6 months left on his contract.
Then we have Liam Delap. Yes he did look good in a relegated team, but he may well turn out to be a one season wonder. The other year Evan Ferguson was supposed to be the next big thing, now he couldn’t even start for West Ham.
Although I’m not Sesko’s biggest fan, I do believe that of all the CFs that we have been linked with, and the ones some of the fans have mentioned, Sesko would be a far better fit for the way we play.
The excuses keep on coming
So facts are excuses according to you 😂 pmsl
Delap should have been a better buy than Sesko had we gone for him earlier. I have a feeling we are going to have a Mudryk like situation if we sign Sesko.
Gyokeres gives me a better feeling.
@paul35mm
I like how you claimed that Osimhem was the only true goal scorer. Yet failed to mention he as well as David both scoring them in weaker leagues as well. While Gyokeres came up through the championship, which is as close as you can get to the EPL…Just sayin.
So to clarify Osimhen you judge because he only scored goals in Italy and Turkey but Gyokeres you like because he’s done it in the …..Championship
Regarding Osimhen, Arteta goes for “team players” in every sense of the phrase not potentially disruptive influences so I guess that rules him out.
That appears to be a factor for other clubs as well as Osimhen was in the rather embarrassing position of only having any serious interest (until recently, at least) from Saudi – and he turned them down. Liverpool was supposed to be interested, but they seem to have moved away from him.
In Andrea Berta Arsenal has one of the most experienced (and respected) Sporting Directors in Europe so let’s see what he can do. It’s asking a lot of him as he joined the club less than three months ago, but there’s time in window.
Again some people simplify the process of getting players. I agree…getting players is about those who make the ‘TEAM’ better. You can score loads of goals and be disruptive. You may make the team play differently, and you score 20 or 30 goals, and Saka’s is shut down, and the captain gets less creative. I am still of the view that Arsenal lacks another creative midfielder and a winger based on their patterns of play. Also, the teams that mass their defence against us give us problems to create. Those are the key points we drop. Our goals are shared around, and we can still score lots. Liverpool had Sala as their lead scorer…he is a winger. Just saying
What a pointless zero information article again, blaaahhh…
i feel you bro, i don’t even what source to believe in. One is saying Gyokeres is the one the other is saying Sesko. At this point just get me a striker.
Weeks ago I questioned buying a player closely aligned previously to Rubin Amorin made good sense? Sorry Gyokeres but your lot as a striker is going to be resigned to helping man utd drag themselves from the doldrums (slight sarcasm).
Think about it (fans) why should Arteta settle for him (second best) when consensus is Isak is the one who would be his ultimate 1st choice? Far as i see its good seeing arteta stick to his guns. He thinks Sesko really is The Guy: so i support it.
Arsenal fans and stupid excuses. You still go trophyless next season cause your teams mentality is same as you fans. 0 ambition
So nice of you to say. You don’t sound like an Arsenal fan though, so maybe go worry about your own team.
Arsenal should sign Gyokeres immediately as he has already established himself, and also go for Rafael Leao of Ac Milan to make our attack more dangerous. sesko is still developing which is dangerous at this point nothing that we need everything at its best to carry the league now .
up Gunners.
Baronkel,
That’s a general sweeping statement you made there regarding ambition. While you may have a valid point concerning some, don’t tar every Arsenal fan with the same brush.
And while I’m at it, why do you seem so angry that our club and fans lack ambition according to you anyway.
Please tell us who you support, or are you to embarrassed to make that public on JA. 🤷♂️
@Baronkel
I guess you’re an authority on who will and who wont go trophyless ‘next season’, Right?. Shame you can’t own up here and say who you really are backing though.
I agree. Arteta and Berta are not looking at simply how many goals any striker scored last season, but how they will fit in as part of a. masterpiece-level jigsaw puzzle they’re trying to put together. Both Gyokeres and Sesko are interesting to them for different reasons in that regard.
Arteta and Edu wanted Isak in 2022, but evidently couldn’t convince the bean counters to part ways with the ~75m asking price at the time. Edu later said he deeply regretted not trying harder. Arteta sees almost exactly the same opportunity in Sesko now, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
@Bergkampfwagen
I agree. Looks like we’re on the same page here.
Yes, I think you’re right about compatibility etc. but we don’t actually know (that’s “know” not guessing) who Arteta wants as a striker, do we? Unfortunately, even if we did it doesn’t mean that, in the end, Berta would be able to secure him at terms acceptable to the club.
As Edu apparently found out it’s usually difficult to convince the “bean counters”, but that’s probably because the beans in question are invariably someone else’s, I suspect. Berta has a reputation for persistence so we’ll see how he does, but we shouldn’t forget he’s been in post for less than three months.
It is interesting how some people just follow pundits and not facts. Arguably the 2 top strikers in the League were on teams that finished after Arsenal. Other than this year when the entire front line was injured we broke scoring record one year and other than City lead scoring. City won without a number 9. Liverpool leading scorer was a winger…hmmm. Selecting a player is also about compatibility. Coaches / managers know and understand that. Haaland changed how City had to play….for example. I strongly believe Arsenal need attacking players not just a striker. We suffered when the captain and Saka especially were out. We need another creative midfielder and a winger
Arsenal are better in discovering players for other team, why must they keeping singing about signing one player for long before finalising the deal or end up losing the player for another team?
I’m not to confident in arsenal in terms of signing players.
Last summer dey kept singing on incoming striker till the transfer windows closed, they end up singing songs of signing new striker January and everything went unfulfilled. Now they have started again.
I believe in action not voice.
Arsenal management is slow at making the right decision. They need to be quick thinkers and bear in mind that chasing two birds( Sesko , Gyokeres) with one stone is risky and may lead to both birds escaping for good.
Last year we played without an established NO. 9 throughout, yet we came 2nd. Now it is a shame that up till now we are still undecided with which NO 9 to choose. Arteta must realize that this year is his last to perform or be shipped out. Our challengers parade two to three goal scores in each match and we are pinning our miserable hope on a no gooder like Havertz. Please go out there and bring in Gyokeres and compliment him with other wannabe strikers you think we have.
I like how Arsenal sporting directors or sporting directors of any club are here speaking as if they know how transfers work. 😂 When fans think they know the process…
Guys there will be rumors and speculation for transfers. Some clubs will get their business done fast and others slower.
Just wait and see what will happen. I am sure you hear of the difficulties at hand…well so it is said.
Wait on the on the outcome. Football is entertainment, it is not life. I assume we don’t have shares (I can be wrong). Just wait and live and hope Berta comes through.
Add my 2c to the Gyokeres vs Sesko. Not that it matters much as Arsenal management will make a decision then have to live with it. Gyokeres a very prolific and proven goal scorer but age is againt him vs Sesko who is good but not great with his scoring but younger and can improve. My issue is which one is likely to looking at Arsenal as a long term goal, not a stepping stone. Gyokeres due to his age want to stay as long as he can and as much as he can WITH Arsenal. I have my doubts about Sesko. If he will improve his head my be turned for more money for some of the other big clubs. Also he had very high wage demand as it was reported, which is something noted even if a acceptabel leve; negotiated by Arsenal. Just my view and only the future will show whether I am right or wrong. I just want that arsenal would win EPL / Champions League and whatever else they can.
I wish he would come to arsenal