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Mikel Arteta has finally got his man - Viktor Gyokeres is officially an Arsenal player.
For the price of £63.7m overall, the Gunners were able to secure the striker's signing from Sporting CP. Negotiations may have lasted the majority of July but this was the priority recruit sporting director Andrea Berta had been chasing down with the utmost care.
Injuries had ravaged Arsenal's attack throughout the 2024/25 campaign, the effects of which are still being felt with Gabriel Jesus out until the end of the calendar year. Therefore the addition of Gyokeres, who scored 97 in 102 outings for his previous club, to the squad looks to be a promising boost.
Arteta has also managed to cover a number of other positions that needed attention with business conducted prior to Gyokeres.
As Jorginho and Thomas Partey departed, defensive midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard have arrived, as has Kepa Arrizabalaga to finally give the manager a secondary goalkeeper option.
Winger Noni Madueke has also supplemented the attack force whilst Cristhian Mosquera joins as a strong defensive prospect.
Now even with these six recruits and a £190m outlay on transfers, the Gunners are still eyeing extra strength before the window slams shut on September 1, particularly in attack with there a good chance of there being one more attack-minded player signed.
Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace is one other talent Arsenal have considered during the summer. The 27-year-old scored 14 and assisted 11 in all competitions, helping his team win their first-ever major accolade in the form of last season's FA Cup.
Eze is understood to have a £67.5m release clause, football.london has been made aware.
This paid up front in one lump sum would be a huge commitment following the club's prior spend this window. Arsenal would have to hope Palace lower their demands or are willing to negotiate an alternative payment structure that suits everybody involved.
Moving on fringe players such as Karl Hein, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Albert Sambi Lokonga is a way the club can secure vital funds to launch an assault for Eze.
The same financial parameters apply again for the other attacking talents Arsenal have displayed an interest in.
Real Madrid's Rodrygo has been another on the club's radar. The 24-year-old's future in the Spanish capital is being questioned at present owing to his reduced role in the final months of manager Carlo Ancelotti and again under his successor, Xabi Alonso, when they competed at this summer's FIFA Club World Cup.
Clarity is expected to emerge in the coming weeks as Real filter back into pre-season preparations for 2025/26, but for now there is much speculation over Rodrygo's £78m transfer to the Emirates Stadium, amongst other Premier League venues.
More tentatively linked are England duo Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon.
The former, an ex-Manchester City youth talent now of Aston Villa fame, has taken his chance since joining Unai Emery's team in January 2024 for £15m from Middlesbrough.
Villa have managed to evade the long arm of the law and keep within the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) parameters in England, so any move for Rogers in the present day may be met with resistance.
But the Midlands club have been sanctioned by UEFA, fined €11m (£9.5m) with a further €15m (£12.9m) conditional on compliance in a three-year period, and there is potential for their financial position to weaken in future. Therefore any deal for Rogers, also under contract for five seasons, may be one to keep an eye on for the future.
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Similarly, Newcastle United are under no pressure to sell Gordon with the winger also reportedly tied to a five-year deal and fine financially, at least for now.
The Magpies' summer has not gone to plan as they have missed out on several high-profile targets to rivals, now to make matters worse star striker Alexander Isak has reportedly expressed desire to move on.
If the Sweden international were to leave, it can presumed that the St. James' Park hierarchy would take an even firmer stance against selling Gordon anytime soon.
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