Why Gyökeres Won’t Flop at Arsenal

On Sunday, it became clear that Arsenal had opted for Viktor Gyökeres as their striker signing, following weeks of speculation over whether it would be him or Benjamin Šeško.

While Arsenal were willing to spend on Šeško for a reasonable fee, RB Leipzig were unwilling to compromise on their position and held firm on their ambitious asking price.

Arsenal had no choice but to turn to the Bundesliga hitman’s alternative.

With that settled, if Arsenal had gone for Šeško, they would have been banking on his development under Mikel Arteta, hoping he would eventually reach his full potential.

The Slovenian is not yet a finished product.

And while it was always clear he is not yet a top-level goal scorer, some could not ignore that Arsenal might have been better off signing a proven, high-scoring striker. Surely those doubts have now been put to rest.

Gyökeres scores goals

If it is a prolific striker you want, Gyökeres fits the bill, at least that is what his extraordinary numbers for Sporting CP suggest:

• 102 games

• 97 goals

• 28 assists

Some worry he is thriving in a less competitive league and may struggle in the Premier League.

But one might ask: If Mikel Merino was thriving as our striker, why would anyone assume that a natural No. 9 like Gyökeres would turn out to be another Darwin Núñez?