It has been an interesting season for Arsenal so far this year as despite looking far from their best for large parts of it, they are currently just a single point behind Liverpool in first place, and were it not for a challenging game away to Aston Villa over the weekend, they would be top of the Premier League – as they were for most of last year.
Mikel Arteta's men have been far more mature in their approach to games, and where their success was built upon frenetic attacks designed to overwhelm opponents last year, they boast the joint-best defence in the league this season.
The team's attacking threat, while not bad, has been somewhat stunted this campaign, and what has made this problem even more pronounced is the lack of a clinical finisher in the side.
Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus have notched up goals in the league, but neither one is prolific, so news that the club are interested in the far more lethal Viktor Gyokeres should excite fans.
Arsenal transfer news – Viktor Gyokeres
According to reports from Portugal (via Sports Witness), Arsenal are one of several top European clubs interested in Sporting Lisbon's new star striker, Viktor Gyokeres, and the Gunners have been scouting the player 'extensively' in recent months.
However, should the north Londoners wish to sign the Swedish striker, they will have to pay his release clause, at least that is what manager Ruben Amorim has said: “I can’t guarantee anything, what I can say is what they tell me and that is any player only leaves through the clause.”
The former Coventry City star joined the Portuguese giants in the summer for a fee in the region of £20m, and his current release clause is said to be €100m, or about £86m, which would represent the second most expensive purchase in Arsenal's history were they to press on.
A move such as this would be a massive sign of intent from the ownership. Still, with the "unplayable" goalscorer, as described by former teammate Maxime Biamou, already netting 11 times in 16 Sporting starts this season, it might well be worth it.
Why Viktor Gyokeres could fire Arsenal to the title
Now, the arrival of an £86m striker would certainly ring alarm bells in the minds of Arsenal's current crop of forwards, but realistically, Jesus has already proven his worth as more than just an out-and-out goalscorer for the Gunners, and so, if a player was going to lose out due to Gyokeres, it's going to be Nketiah.
The former Chelsea youth product has been a useful player for Arteta in recent years and cemented himself as the club's backup striker towards the end of the 2021/22 season.
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However, towards the backend of last season and the first third of this campaign, it has become increasingly apparent that he isn't a good enough finisher to help the Gunners end their two-decade title drought.
When comparing their respective numbers for this season, it becomes evident that Gyokeres would be a significant upgrade on the Gunners' current number 14.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.46
0.42
Progressive Carries
3.61
1.63
Progressive Passes
2.02
1.20
Shots on Target
1.17
0.87
Shot-Creating Actions
3.77
2.61
Goal-Creating Actions
0.50
0.65
Successful Take-Ons
2.44
0.87
The "Premier League ready" forward, as described by Adrian Clarke on talkSPORT, comes out on top in almost every critical attacking metric and produces far superior numbers in areas such as successful take-ons and progressive carries, which could prove vital in helping Arteta's side breakdown frustrating low blocks.
Ultimately, the "one of a kind" striker, as described by his former manager Mark Robins, would make Arsenal a far more potent attacking threat and could genuinely be the difference between a first and second-place finish come May.
