Gyokeres joins Arsenal for £64m

A former teammate questions Gyokeres's £64m signing and warns he may struggle at Arsenal.

Gyokeres price tag tests Arsenal patience

Arsenal have paid £64m to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon. The 27-year-old striker had two prolific seasons in Portugal, scoring 97 goals in 102 games and winning back to back league titles. Before Sporting he played for Coventry City, Swansea City and Brighton, with a breakout spell at Coventry that earned him a big move thertooto Sporting. At Brighton he went on three loan spells and failed to break into the first team, a pattern that colors expectations ahead of his Arsenal debut.

Former Brighton teammate Glenn Murray says he never saw Gyokeres as a £64m striker and worries the step to the Premier League is too big. Murray noted how quickly Ben White showed his quality at Brighton and questioned Gyokeres’ fit with Arsenal’s style. Arteta has pressed for a new striker this summer and briefly weighed Benjamin Sesko before turning to Gyokeres. The 27-year-old scored his first Arsenal goal in a recent pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao and is set to make his league debut at Old Trafford.

Arsenal are betting on a high price tag to buy a quick fix for a long standing goals problem. The move exposes the tension between buying talent and the risk of overpaying for a player who may need time to adapt. The debate around Gyokeres is as much about market dynamics as it is about football fit. If the expected impact is slow, the criticism could sharpen and the club may face public scrutiny over its spending.

This transfer also highlights how clubs balance risk against need. Gyokeres’ background in Portugal and the mixed signals from pundits suggest a path that requires smart support around him. Arsenal will need a plan B if the adaptation takes longer than hoped and a clear strategy to translate potential into goals.

Highlights

Time will tell if Gyokeres fulfills the promise that pricing suggests.