Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is now very close to sealing his first signing of the summer, in a forward who could reportedly leave for half of his release clause.

Edu and Arteta seek midfield and forward upgrades at Arsenal

Sporting director Edu wants to shore up a variety of key areas for Arteta, as the Gunners look to mount a third-successive Premier League title challenge and thwart long-time champions Man City.

Ex-CEO says £60m player is in talks to join Arsenal from his former club

He’s exactly the kind of player “Arteta likes”.

2 ByEmilio Galantini Jun 21, 2024

Midfield and further forward are two areas that the north Londoners are keen to address this summer, with engine room ace Thomas Partey looking likely to depart Arsenal amid rumoured talks with Saudi Arabia.

They'll need a midfield replacement for the Ghana international, as Arsenal look to bring in both his heir and an alternative to star man Declan Rice in the midfield. Arteta could also sign a new attacker or two to bolster their forward line, despite Arsenal scoring over 90 goals in the Premier League alone last season.

Bukayo Saka

20

Leandro Trossard

17

Kai Havertz

14

Martin Odegaard

11

Gabriel Jesus

8

Kai Havertz dazzled in a makeshift centre-forward role under the Spaniard last season, with Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka also leading the way in terms of goals scored. However, it is believed Arteta personally wants a young striker to partner Havertz going forward.

Arsenal were in the race to sign RB Leipzig ace Benjamin Sesko for the role, and made a proposal to sign the Slovenia international before he opted to sign a new deal at his current club instead.

Now, they're targeting alternative strikers they could do a deal for, and one is believed to be Sporting Lisbon sensation Viktor Gyokeres. The Swede, who bagged a head-turning 43 goals and 15 assists in all competitions last season, averaging one every 97 minutes, is attracting attention across Europe as a result.

There's an £86 million release clause in his contract, but respected Italian newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport recently claimed that Sporting could actually sell Gyokeres for in and around £42 million – as there is a belief the player will be very tempted if some of the continent's biggest clubs come calling.

Arsenal "very close" to signing Viktor Gyokeres

As per Portuguese news outlet Leonino, Arteta's side are doing "everything they can" to seal a move for the striker. They add that Arsenal are actually "very close" to signing Gyokeres, with the deal only being held up by financial details as things stand.

If the 26-year-old does put pen to paper, it could be one of the coups of the summer, with Tony Mowbray having also highlighted Gyokeres' physical attributes as another plus point: “(He) is too fast, too strong and too big."

"You would suggest Haaland is like that and Gyokeres in this league looks a yard faster and stronger than the players he plays against in the Championship. The way he buys himself space to shoot is pretty impressive and Coventry did well to hold onto him, he looks a really talented boy.”