Sporting director Edu and head coach Mikel Arteta had been open to the possibility of bolstering the Gunners’ frontline following the departure of Eddie Nketiah, despite Kai Havertz’s impressive displays while leading the line.
The likes of Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen were linked with moves to north London but ended up heading to Saudi Arabia and Turkey respectively, while the only forward addition for Arsenal was the deadline day loan signing of Raheem Sterling from Chelsea.
They may have set on their hands in the hope of landing a marquee striker further down the line, be that in January or next summer, while Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres is certainly putting his hand up to be considered for that role.
Having stayed at the Portuguese club despite rumoured interest from both Arsenal and Chelsea, Gyokeres has been in a rich vein of form. The Swede has 15 goal contributions in seven games already this season, 10 goals and five assists, after another brace for his country against Estonia.
His stock continues to rise and if Arsenal do want the 26-year-old former Coventry star to head to the Emirates, they had better start laying the groundwork soon or risk his price tag skyrocketing and their rivals moving ahead of them in the race for his signature.
Sweden v Estonia - UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League C Group C1
Viktor Gyokeres scoring for Sweden against Estonia. (Image: Getty)
Another option who could be on the market next summer is Alexander Isak, if Newcastle do not qualify for European football once again this season, Gyokeres’ strike partner for Sweden.
Isak has been a long-standing Arsenal target and they were heavily linked with the 24-year-old while he was at Real Sociedad. But they will be impressed by the classy gesture he made to another of their targets, Gyokeres, while playing together for their country.
Isak scored two goals in the space of six minutes to help Sweden secure a 3-1 win over Azerbaijan last week and had the chance to bag a hat-trick when they were later awarded a penalty.
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But in an act of kindness that showed Isak’s selfless side, Isak handed the ball to Gyokeres to get on the scoresheet, as opposed to being desperate to get a third himself.
"We talked about it," explained Isak. "We both wanted to take the penalty but I said that he had assisted me two times so he could take the penalty, otherwise I would probably have wanted to have a hat-trick. Sometimes you need to be generous.
"It was two fantastic assists from Viktor. We talked before [the match] that we need to have a good connection between each other and I think that we showed that today."
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