Mikel Arteta's side are supposed to be fighting for the Premier League title this season, but following their loss to Newcastle United last week, they are currently seven points behind leaders Liverpool.
Moreover, their defeat to Inter Milan during the week was their third in six games, and while the defence looks shaky, the attack looks blunt. In short, the Gunners need to change something and quickly.
So, fans should be excited about recent reports that have suggested the club now have a golden opportunity to secure the services of an exceptionally gifted number nine, even if that would impact Kai Havertz's game time.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from GIVEMESPORT, Arsenal will have the chance to launch an early bid for Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres in January.
Gyokeres-Sporting-Champions-League
The report has revealed that there is a gentlemanly agreement between the player and club that he can leave in the summer for around £62.5m, but should clubs wish to jump ahead of the ever-growing queue, then they can opt to pay £71m in January.
While that's good news, the bad news is that, alongside the Gunners, the report also claims that Paris Saint-Germain and several clubs from the Saudi Pro League are now keen on the Swede, meaning there could even be significant competition in January.
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In all, it could still be a complicated and costly transfer to get done, but due to Gyokeres' incredible ability, one worth pursuing, even if that negatively impacts Havertz's game time in North London.
How Gyokeres compares to Havertz
So, if Arsenal are going to spend up to £71m - or more - on Gyokeres in January, it certainly won't be with the intention of making him warm the bench, meaning he'll be in direct competition with Havertz for a place in the starting lineup.
Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.
With that said, how to the pair stack up against one another? Is it an easy win for the Sporting ace?
Well, unfortunately for the former Chelsea man, it very much is, as across his 51 appearances for Arteta's side last season, he racked up a reasonable tally of 14 goals and seven assists, meaning he averaged 0.41 goal involvements every game.
viktor-gyokeres-transfer-news-leeds-united-championship
However, in his 50 appearances for the Portuguese giants last season, the former Coventry City star, whom ex-teammate Maxime Biamou dubbed "unplayable", scored 43 goals and provided 15 assists, equating to an obscene average of 1.16 goal involvements every game.
Things remain just as one-sided when we look at this season as well.
In just 17 appearances for the Lisbon side, the Stockholm-born goal machine has found the back of the net on 23 occasions and provided four assists to boot, meaning he's currently averaging 1.58 goal involvements every game.
In contrast, the Gunners' number 29 has got on the scoresheet seven times in 16 games and has one assist to his name, which works out to a still impressive but significantly worse average of 0.50 goal involvements per match.
Gyokeres vs Havertz from 23/24
23/24
Gyokeres
Havertz
Appearances
50
51
Goals
43
14
Assists
15
7
Goal Involvements per Match
1.16
0.41
24/25
Gyokeres
Havertz
Appearances
17
16
Goals
23
7
Assists
4
1
Goal Involvements per Match
1.58
0.50
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Ultimately, even when you account for a slightly weaker league, the difference in goalscoring ability between Havertz and Gyokeres is enormous, and if Arsenal want to claw back lost ground on Liverpool and Manchester City in the new year, then they must sign the Swedish goalmachine in January.
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