Unarguably the biggest attacking signing Arsenal has made under Mikel Arteta, yet Viktor Gyokeres was not widely accepted by the fans and pundits, only for him to win them over, even before the deal was sealed.
In the end, the atmosphere created within the fanbase upon his arrival was worth all he had to go through before completing this move, because he had everyone, including new teammates, saying he is the kind of character they want at their club.
It was a long saga, ohh, before that, a long summer. Arsenal appeared to have their own priority signing for the striker role but were not limited in options, as they preferred to have a comparative advantage when it came down to negotiations.
Andrea Berta, upon his arrival at the club just before the summer, had started making moves to kick off his first window with the club on a good note. Two strikers were the focus, one primary, Benjamin Sesko, and Viktor Gyokeres was the secondary option.
And not to forget, Arsenal have been long-term admirers of Alexander Isak. But with three more years left on his Newcastle United contract, and a lack of willingness to move at the time, he was not an option, not only for Arsenal but also for other top clubs in need of striker reinforcement.
Arsenal began negotiations with two clubs: Sporting CP and RB Leipzig. But the latter was their chief client, as Benjamin Sesko, much younger although not as fulfilled as the other, was their priority, because he fit in more to what the club is building.
The Slovenian had been a target for Arsenal long before Berta’s arrival. Mikel Arteta favoured this signing as he has enormous potential. Even last summer, they were hopeful of his signature, only for him to sign a new contract extension with his Bundesliga club.
How Benjamin Sesko Lost His Arsenal Chance
As promising as a potential association looked, it appears Benjamin Sesko’s camp was more focused on the benefits from the deal rather than getting their client to sign for Arsenal, because they maintained their position when negotiations with Leipzig stalled.
The striker definitely has an option that allows the Red Bull club to sell him for much less than they demanded from Arsenal, and has already informed them he will leave this summer.
Yet, he remained in silent mode until Arsenal were uncomfortably priced out of a potential move for him. And there it goes into the waters, the deal highly favoured by pundits, and some fans.
Arsenal had been in talks with the striker and his camp for more than 18 months, when Edu Gasper was still the sports director, and there had been an understanding that he would be made a priority in the summer.
Benjamin Sesko has a market value of €70 million as per Transfermarkt, but Leipzig reportedly insisted they would only be open to negotiating with a starting bid of €90 million. The misconception is that both his camp and club see him as a superstar, but what Arsenal sees is potential to be groomed.
Arsenal, although never really changed its stance, waited in the hope that the club will be more reasonable, but it was all to no avail. Funny how the player is now set to be sold for that same €70 million.
But this failure is to the joy of those who favour the numbers and not potential, those who argued that a striker with 13 league goals can not be better than one with 39 no matter the perspective from which it is viewed.
But when a move for Sesko was still a possibility, the sound of their cry was boring, and now, not so much.
Viktor Gyokeres | The Forcefully Forged Gunner
When Arsenal left negotiations with Leipzig and proceeded to focus on Sporting, everyone thought it was a strategy to get the German club to be more open to a reasonable valuation of their striker.
But Viktor Gyokeres almost immediately took it upon himself to ensure the deal was a success. Already having informed Sporting of his decision to leave even before the summer, the club was willing to listen to negotiations — and that was a good start.
However, complications set in when the time for bidding came. He had a release clause of €100 million at Sporting, but there was a gentleman’s agreement to let him leave for less should he prefer the move.
Arsenal wanted the total package of the deal to not exceed €75 million, but Hugo Viana and Sporting believed there were clubs willing to pay far more for “the best striker in the world.”
Viktor Gyokeres scored 39 league goals last season — at least eight more than anyone — while he narrowly lost out to Kylian Mbappé in the race for the European Golden Shoe by 3.5 points.
In the last two seasons alone, he has scored 110 goals for club and country and added 31 assists — a greater attacking output than the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Matheus Cunha, and Joao Pedro have managed in their entire professional careers. Yet, all three have been signed for more in the same window.
Manchester United, for one, wanted to reunite him with his former boss, Ruben Amorim, and would be more than willing to meet Sporting’s demands. But their failure to make Europe was a red flag. After their Europa League final loss to Spurs, there goes their chance with Gyokeres.
The Sweden international insisted: only Arsenal. Sporting and his agents tried to make him look elsewhere when talks stalled with the Gunners, but he never wavered in his stance. It’s only Arsenal — and there must be a deal.
But Arsenal remained unwilling to even add to their bid. In the end, Arsenal’s bid was accepted on the 13th of July, a few days after Gyokeres reportedly agreed to waive €2.5 million of his own to see both clubs reach an agreement.
Everyone thought the saga was finally over, and it was confirmed that there were no more obstacles. Only if they knew that more twists awaited.
Further Complications After Initial Agreement
Arsenal’s agreement with Sporting CP on the aforementioned night was widely reported by several top-tier media, but what followed was weeks of silence, which made many start to doubt if there was ever an agreement.
But those who knew and were sure feared the deal would fall through due to some terms unknown at the time, which turned out to be a conflict between Sporting and Viktor Gyokeres’ agent.
After Arsenal failed to pay enough, Sporting concluded that it was the agent who had to cut their loss in the deal, because their client could have gone for another option where they could have had their demands met.
This dragged on for another two weeks, with Arsenal not bothered about the crisis, leaving Gyokeres, his agent, and Sporting to deal with it.
During this period, they tried to link him with other clubs just to unsettle Arsenal’s resolve, but Andrea Berta did not buy any of their desperate ploy. And to be fair, Gyokeres did not give him any reason to.
His determination was so convincing and appreciated that even Arsenal turned down the chance to sign Sesko, when his camp recalled them back to negotiations when the talks with Gyokeres were advanced, as reported by The Athletic.
The only Arsenal shout for Gyokeres, at that point, was reciprocated, and for Arsenal, it also became only Gyokeres.
It Is Only Arsenal For Viktor Gyokeres
Reports from Portugal have it that his father broke down in tears when it appeared the move would not go through, but Viktor Gyokeres remained calm, standing on his grounds that he only wants Arsenal.
For all his try, kudos to his agent, Hasan Cetinkaya, who in the end waived his commission of almost €7 million to ensure the deal would be completed.
After this was decided, it was announced on the 23rd that an agreement had finally been reached and Viktor Gyokeres would become an Arsenal player. No details about the medical schedule, only that he’ll undergo one. Well, it’s the culture in every transfer.
The excitement of the Arsenal players, take Myles Lewis-Skelly for instance, who was seen celebrating the signing in a trending video, tells you all is set and done.
Yet it was only two days later that Viktor Gyokeres was finally given the permission to travel to London and have his Arsenal medical, finally bringing an end to a saga that was never thought would even see the light of day, but for the player’s determination.
Consequences Of Viktor Gyokeres’ Move For Alexander Isak
Gyokeres, out of nowhere, is already becoming the face of Swedish football following his return to the national team in 2022. He has become a threat to the status of Alexander Isak, even though they complement each other in the team.
Gyokeres has 14 goals since returning around three years ago, and adding to the one he managed during his first call-up in 2018, he is now just one behind Isak, who has been a regular since 2017 and has won twice as many caps.
Adding their entire goal involvement for Sweden, the duo are currently tied on 21, and the Gyokeres move to Arsenal will make him the outright face of the attack for the country, if Isak remains at Newcastle United.
Nevertheless, even though he eventually secures a move away, with his likely destination at this time being Liverpool, he will have a lot of ground to make up for, because the new Arsenal man has proven to be the best goalscorer, and will spearhead Arsenal’s attack, while Salah already does that for Liverpool.
Viktor Gyokeres | The One Who Deserves The Love
The 27-year-old is a signing that gets any team in the world excited, unless you’re Manchester City, which employs Braut Erling Haaland. But maybe not all of Arsenal had he arrived as an easy catch.
Although the concerns still remain whether he will fit into Arteta’s system as Sesko would have, and that this could be another disaster in waiting, as not really any of the Spaniard’s attacking signings have gone too well.
But also note: none of them was ever as good as Viktor Gyokeres.
Players have come to Arsenal just because they love the club, appreciate Mikel Arteta’s brilliance, and how he has set up his team. While Gyokeres can now be counted as one of the lot, his own situation surpasses any of theirs, and that is reason enough for fans to get behind him.
It’s an awkward window that allows fans to grow in greed. Both Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko, whom the club really prioritised, are now available, ready to move out of their clubs for a new environment.
But, even though fans wanted and maybe still want them, do they deserve to be at Arsenal?
They knew Arsenal wanted a striker, but didn’t even make any attempts to make themselves available to fill the void all summer. In the end, it was not meant to be, and the one who wanted it more struggled for it, and now, he has it.
Understanding the sacrifices of Viktor Gyokeres to get into Arsenal will only make you love him more. He boycotted Sporting training, ready for a legal battle against the club he’s won so much with. And in the end, what was a dream is now a destination.
Aside from hundreds of goals and the trademark celebration, Viktor Gyokeres has already won over the fans with his determination to play for their club.
The former Brighton man didn’t just sign for Arsenal, he fought his way into the club. With the years he had at Sporting, Gyokeres deserves to wait for opportunities to find him, yet he chose to chase Arsenal.
When others hesitated, he was committed. When silence dominated as negotiations stalled, he made noise with his determination. And now, North London doesn’t just welcome a striker, it embraces a symbol of desire, grit, and belief. And for a fanbase craving more than just numbers, Viktor Gyokeres may not only be the answer, but also the reward for the years of denial.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
