Despite Arsenal coming so close to winning the Premier League, the 2023/24 season ended in heartbreak for Mikel Arteta’s side. The title race came down to the final day of the season, with Arsenal needing to win and hope Manchester City dropped points at home to West Ham.
The Gunners did their job, with Kai Havertz securing the three points late on in the game. However, it was not enough to win the title, after Pep Guardiola’s City side beat West Ham 3-1 to win their fourth consecutive title.
It will no doubt frustrate Arsenal that, whilst they were nearly perfect in the Premier League, they could still not overcome City, who drew two more games across the season which gave them the points needed to get over the line.
One of the overarching issues this season for Arsenal has been the lack of a centre-forward who is a real penalty box presence. This may come as a sunrise to many, given Arsenal were the second top scorer in the Premier League this season with 91 goals, only behind City, and had the fourth highest expected goals, with 84.39 xG, as per Understat.
Goals
91
2nd
xG
84.39
4th
Home goals
48
=3rd
Home xG
47.42
4th
Away goals
43
2nd
Away xG
36.97
2nd
Whilst Havertz has done a good job leading the line for the Gunners this season, with 13 goals and seven assists in 37 games, the lack of a striker is frustrating Arsenal fans, with journalist Layth Yousif stating that the side “need a prolific, goal-laden striker”, following their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich in April.
As the transfer window draws near, Arsenal have been constantly linked with centre-forwards to supplement their side, with one player in particular strongly rumoured to be joining the Gunners this summer.
Arsenal’s striker shortlist
The player in question here is Sporting and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres. The 25-year-old has been superb in his debut season in Lisbon, which has resulted in him being linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.
According to Miguel Delaney of the Independent, Arsenal are hoping to “sign a prime striker before their pre-season tour”, with Gyokeres one of the names on the list. Other options on their list include Newcastle striker Alexander Isak and Ajax man Brian Brobbey.
Sporting signed Gyokeres from Championship side Coventry City last summer, for a fee of £20.4m, which was a record sale for the English club, beating the £13m they got for selling Robbie Keane to Inter in 2000.
Indeed, Sporting will be in line to make plenty of profit if Gyokeres departs this summer. According to The Mirror, the Swedish striker will cost Arsenal £68.5m this summer, although that could be further increased.
How Gyokeres would fit in at Arsenal
In short, Gyokeres could finally be the man Arsenal have been crying out for since the days of Robin van Persie, subsequently taking the Londoners from Premier League challengers in 2023/24 to Premier League champions in 2024/25.
In his final campaign before joining Man United, the great Dutchman bagged 37 goals in 48 games, a tally that has not been bettered by anyone in red and white since.
It's a better total than some pretty cracking forwards too, notably Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
2011/12
Van Persie
30
2012/13
Theo Walcott
14
2013/14
Olivier Giroud
16
2014/15
Alexis Sanchez
16
2015/16
Olivier Giroud
16
2016/17
Alexis Sanchez
24
2017/18
Alexandre Lacazette
14
2018/19
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
22
2019/20
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
22
2020/21
Alexandre Lacazette
13
2021/22
Bukayo Saka
11
2022/23
Odegaard, Martinelli
15
2023/24
Bukayo Saka
16
Should Arsenal sign Gyokeres this summer, they will no doubt be signing one of the best strikers in the world from the 2023/24 season. He has scored 43 goals and registered 15 assists in 49 games in all competitions this season, an incredible return.
In fact, when compared to Arsenal’s current centre-forward options, he outscores all of them. Compared to Gyokeres’ 58 goal involvements, Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah have just 46 in all competitions between them.
Gyokeres
49
43
15
Havertz
51
14
7
Jesus
36
8
8
Nketiah
37
6
3
In signing Gyokeres, Arsenal would be bringing a “simply incredible” and the “definition of a complete forward” into the club. That was how Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig described the Swede, and it is something that is certainly reflected in his stats outside of goal involvements.
Indeed, Gyokeres’ Fbref numbers speak volumes about the sheer quality he will bring to this title-chasing Arsenal team, on top of the goals and assists that he can add to Arteta’s side. As far as centre-forwards go, Gyokeres is an effective ball-carrier.
He uses his upper body strength to muscle defenders off the ball, and averages 3.52 progressive carries per 90 minutes, and 2.63 carries into the penalty area per 90 minutes. Both of these place him in the top 1% of strikers in Europe's major leagues.
Not only that, he has the ability to create chances out of seemingly nothing. Gyokeres averages 4.08 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes, and 0.65 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes, both of which place him in the top 3% of strikers on the continent. This is a key attribute to take to this Arsenal side, who don’t really have a number nine who can create chances out of nowhere.
One underrated area of Gyokeres’ game is his playmaking ability. In fact, the Sweden international, who has six goals in 20 games for his country, averages 1.67 key passes per 90 minutes, which ranks him in the top 6%. His 15 assists in all competitions this season are perhaps unsurprising, therefore, when you take into account how good he is from a creative standpoint.
But, ultimately, what Arsenal will be paying all that money for is goals, and that is exactly what Gyokeres can bring to Arteta’s side. Having an elite playmaker behind him, like Martin Odegaard is, will only elevate the Swede’s game.
According to Squawka, Odegaard created the third most chances in the Premier League this season, with 102. He was bettered only by Bruno Fernandes with 114 and Pascal Gross with 103. Bukayo Saka was fourth on that list, with 91 chances created. The Arsenal captain created 88 of those chances from open play, which no one in the Premier League bettered.
Having the likes of Odegaard and Saka playing in and around Gyokeres will only enhance the 25-year-old’s game. He will receive plenty of chances, and in games that Arsenal lost narrowly, such as the 1-0 defeat away to Aston Villa, or those draws, including the 0-0 result at the Etihad Stadium, could become victories if Gyokeres gets half a chance, and swing momentum in the title race.
The signing of Gyokeres could represent the swinging of the pendulum in the overarching Premier League title race. As their fans have pointed out, Arsenal need a clinical number nine, and the Swede could be just that.
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