This transfer window has not been the easiest so far for Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta’s side are not giving up and they are preparing for a massive swap deal
Arsenal are willing to offer Atletico Madrid Viktor Gyokeres as bait to bring Julian Alvarez to the Emirates Stadium.
Last summer, Gyokeres moved to north London from Sporting for £64million, having scored more than 50 goals in the 2024-25 campaign. He was not able to reach the same numbers under Mikel Arteta and despite scoring 21 goals in all competitions, he did not cement his position as Arsenal’s main striker. His form has also not been enough to prevent the north Londoners from being linked with Alvarez.
Atletico have made their reluctance to sell him abundantly clear, by repeatedly pointing to the humongous £427million buy-out clause in his deal. However, it’s understood the north Londoners want to test their stubbornness by offering Gyokeres as part of a player-plus-cash deal.
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As per The Times, Arsenal are keen to present the Swedish player to Diego Simeone’s team on top of a transfer fee. Last season, Gyokeres contributed 21 goals and three assists in 55 outings across all competitions, a commendable performance, but not one that sparked the same enthusiasm as the 54 goals and 13 assists he netted during his final campaign for Sporting.
That campaign convinced the Gunners to splash out approximately £64m on the Swedish international, who netted one goal and provided two more at the World Cup. Following the Champions League final defeat, Arteta made it evident his team must recruit more elite talent if they are to continue claiming major silverware.
He said: “We’ll [have to] start to make some very important decisions if we want to reach another level. We’re going to have to show that ambition.
“We are more than capable of doing it, but it’s going to demand being very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart.”
Thus far, the transfer window has proved challenging for Arteta’s squad. They were caught off guard by Chelsea’s sudden £117m offer to secure Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers following several weeks of discussions with the Midlands club.
Bradley Barcola of Paris Saint-Germain is also believed to feature on Arteta’s shopping list. Meanwhile, Arteta may additionally seek new defenders with William Saliba scheduled to undergo back surgery this summer.
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A switch for free agent and England World Cup star John Stones has been discussed, while Ezri Konsa from Villa has similarly been pinpointed as a possible target.
Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United also tops their priorities, especially with Declan Rice battling his neural hamstring injury at the World Cup.
Arsenal’s Premier League title defence commences on August 21st, when they welcome newly promoted Coventry City.