Arsenal have all but sealed the signing of Viktor Gyokeres, and Mikel Arteta finally has the centre-forward he has craved.
This is a club on the up, has been for several years with Arteta at the helm. But things have perhaps gotten a little monotonous. The football has lost a sense of flair. A sense of X-factor. A sense of electricity.
But context is important, and must indeed be applied here. The Gunners were wracked by injuries across the 2024/25 campaign, and the highest level of fluency was always going to prove difficult to reach.
But even so, the lack of an out-and-out goalscorer was evident; had Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus achieved injury-free seasons, something still would have lacked in the Premier League. Enter, Gyokeres.
The Sweden striker is the subject of a £64m agreement between Arsenal and two-in-a-row Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon. Across his two terms with the club, he has scored 97 goals and laid on 28 assists across 102 matches.
It’s a game-changing signing, and Arteta may be about to welcome more quality to his team.
What comes next for Arsenal
Gyokeres fixes what is ostensibly Arsenal’s biggest problem, but with the futures of left-sided forwards Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli unclear, technical director Andrea Berta may be set to oversee a few more exciting deals.
Arsenal are also looking for another creative midfielder, and are locked in talks with the camp of Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze. Xavi Simons has been of interest, but the RB Leipzig man looks likely to join Chelsea.
Simons’ versatility would have been a welcome asset for an Arsenal side in search of more dynamism and multi-faceted quality, but, in Eze, Arteta would land a sensation proven in the Premier League and having assumed a talismanic role for the Eagles last term, leading them to the FA Cup title.
Whether Eze or Simons joins the Emirates side remains to be seen, but a deal for either shouldn’t deter from the signing of an out-and-out winger.
Arsenal lining up new winger
As per Caught Offside’s Charles Watts, Arsenal are “looking at” a deal for Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, though Liverpool are also expected to raise their interest if they sell Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich.
Though Los Blancos are open to selling Rodrygo, who has been informed of a reduced role in Xabi Alonso’s system, they will only part ways for a significant fee, with figures as high as £87m entering market discourse.
Watts stresses that the new deal for Ethan Nwaneri shouldn’t disrupt the pursuit of the Brazilian player.
What Rodrygo would bring to Arsenal
While Arsenal could do with some more creativity in the form of an up-and-coming talent like Simons, Martin Odegaard is set to lead the club once again.
The skipper might not have been at his best last term, but he’s still “one of the world’s best footballers”, as has been claimed by Benfica winger Andreas Schjelderup.
And with a “world-class” player such as Rodrygo out on the left, as has been said by his former teammate Luka Modric, there’s no telling how high the Real Madrid man could fly in an Arsenal shirt.
Rodrygo left plenty to be desired last season, but he’s surpassed 25 goal contributions across three campaigns now, surely underscoring his elite ability.
Furthermore, he only missed one big chance in La Liga last season, as per Sofascore, scoring six goals. What does this tell us? Well, it says that while he was under-par, the 24-year-old retained an impressive clinical edge to his performances, which could be enhanced in an Arsenal side desperate for a high-level winger to rival Bukayo Saka.
But with Saka, of course, one of the finest right wingers in world football, Rodrygo would need to move away from his regular role on that flank, and instead play off the left wing.
Luckily, this is exactly what he wishes to do, the right-footer having found the left side an elusive area, typically out of his reach due to Vinicius Junior taking precedence at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Right winger
31
8
5
Left winger
12
6
6
Centre-forward
10
0
0
Rodrygo’s prowess on the left is clear. He is far more prolific when placed in his natural role. Should Arsenal use him in the fitting way, there’s every chance that he would prove himself as a bigger talent than someone like Simons, who is on Arteta’s radar but perhaps isn’t needed when Odegaard is desperate to return to his finest form.
Moreover, the Dutchman scored 11 goals and provided eight assists across all competitions during the 2024/25 campaign, so even as he forged a highlight season in his career, Simons still wasn’t on par with Rodrygo, who had failed to spark his best football.
And though the 22-year-old is more of a playmaker than the fearsome Rodrygo, he routinely played out on the left wing, so it feels like the Gunners are instead prioritising the latter.
This is further reflected through the Bundesliga club’s asking price for their star man. Arsenal and Chelsea have both been quoted at £56m, suggesting that his signature doesn’t carry the same weight as Rodrygo’s.
But then we know this. We know how much of a statement signing this would be. With both Trossard and Martinelli flattering to deceive at stages last year, there’s little question that the Brazilian would spark frissons of excitement that Simons would perhaps not quite match.
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It won’t be an easy one to pull off, but if Arsenal have the means, they must throw the kitchen sink at Rodrygo, reeling him over to take this exciting project to the next level.
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