Mistake message sent to Arsenal by Viktor Gyokeres as Mikel Arteta puts faith in favourite

Viktor Gyokeres has spoken of his current transfer situation while continuing to show Arsenal why snubbing him this summer may have been a mistake.

Arsenal did not opt to sign a center forward during the summer transfer window despite links to several potential options including Viktor Gyokeres. Eddie Nketiah was sold for a £30million pure profit that included £5million in add-ons.

This money was not reinvested with the club moving for late loan deals for Neto and Raheem Sterling. There was a strategy of restraint and an approach that focused on sustainability at Arsenal this summer, football News London understands, where they held firm on what they valued in the players they wanted to sign and the price tags of players they were willing to part with.

Nketiah’s sale was one aspect of this but while the club deserved praise for how it approached improving the sales reputation, this restraint perhaps went too far for many when it came to incomings. A striker felt a necessity for some fans and Gyokeres again was a prominent figure in those desires but in the end, he remained with Sporting CP.

It seems to be some surprise even to the 26-year-old that he remained in Portugal. Speaking to Sport Bladet, Gyokeres explained the reality of the summer window.

“They (Sporting) wanted most of the starting players to stay and held us tight. That’s how it turned out, but I enjoy Sporting very much, so for me it was no problem to stay,” he said.

“Of course. You want to play at the highest level. [The release clause] was probably a bit too much because nothing came of it. Of course, it’s a lot of money, but we’ll see what happens next window.

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