Viktor Gyokeres and Mikel Arteta (Photo by Gualter Fatia, Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon are reportedly now finalising transfer negotiations over Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Swedish outlet Afton Bladet appears to have been first to the news, while others such as Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein have also weighed in on the story.
Ornstein has reported for the Athletic that Arsenal are in advanced talks with Sporting as they look to sign Gyokeres instead of RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko.
Meanwhile, see Romano’s video post below as he’s stated that it could be ‘here we go’ for Gyokeres to join Arsenal very soon, even if it’s not quite a done deal yet…
Viktor Gyökeres and Arsenal, here we go can be very soon. ???? pic.twitter.com/T0ObBNr978
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 6, 2025
Sesko had long been Arsenal’s top target, and at various points it looked like things were progressing well, but it now looks like that deal is surely off.
Viktor Gyokeres transfer: What can the Swedish striker bring to Arsenal?
Gyokeres may be 27 years old and yet to play in one of the big five leagues in Europe, but his goal-scoring record at Sporting is phenomenal.
The former Coventry City man has scored a remarkable 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting in total, making him one of the most coveted strikers on the market this summer.
Other big clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United also wanted Gyokeres, but Romano has noted that the player has given his full priority to joining Arsenal.
Gyokeres’ stats vs other top strikers
Take a look at the graphic below to see how Gyokeres compares to other relevant centre-forwards…
It seems fair to say that Gyokeres looks a lot better than Sesko based on these figures, while he really holds his own against other big names like Alexander Isak and Robert Lewandowski.
Arsenal fans might have some reservations about this deal, and it’s probably fair to expect that Gyokeres won’t be scoring 50-plus goals a season in English football.
At the same time, however, this is clearly a big talent that Arsenal look ready to place a lot of trust in after a lengthy saga, so fans will have to trust that they know what they’re doing.
