Gyokeres finally addresses Arsenal links as transfer saga hits crucial stage

Viktor Gyokeres scored crucial goal to help Sporting Lisbon finish their campaign with another trophy - and he then spoke about the possibility of a £60million transfer to Arsenal

Viktor Gyokeres offered a telling hint that he is about to leave Sporting Lisbon after helping his side complete a domestic double. Gyokeres is the most sought after striker in Europe this summer and has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal.

He wrapped up his 2024/25 campaign in style as Sporting added the Portuguese Cup to the league title with a nervy win over rivals Benfica. Gyokeres scored a crucial equaliser from the penalty spot in the 11th minute of added time to force the match into extra time after Benfica took the lead through Orkun Kokcu.

Sporting then pushed on in extra time, with goals from Conrad Harder and Francisco Trincao securing the trophy with a 3-1 win. His goal meant Gyokeres ended the season with two trophies to go with his 53 goals and 13 assists in 51 games.

But straight after the final whistle and the trophy lift, the Swedish striker knew what he would be asked about. Speaking to reporters, he tried to keep his cards close to his chest when quizzed on a pending transfer, but his words spoke volumes.

“Let us see,” he said. "It’s hard for me to say, because yeah it is football and you never know what’s going to happen in the summer. So for me to say anything else than that is impossible.”

Asked specifically about Arsenal, he added: “I don’t know, I just focus on this. I’ve tried to focus on the last games because it’s so important and I don’t want to think about anything else. So yeah, if anything is true, let’s see in the summer.”

Mirror Football understands that Arsenal believe Gyokeres will be theirs if they stump up Sporting’s asking price of £60million. The Gunners will have to pay the 26-year-old over £200,000-a-week to secure his services, but are ready to do so in order to secure the kind of top-class goalscorer they have been missing.

Sporting and Gyokeres have waited until the end of the season before dealing with the Swedish international's future. They are now expected to open talks with interested parties, with Arsenal at the front of the queue.

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Arsenal finished second for the third straight Premier League season and know they have missed a prolific goalscorer, with the injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz costing them dearly. New sporting director Andrea Berta is the man tasked with finding the right man and it is believed that Gyokeres is their first choice, ahead of RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.

Mikel Arteta has made it clear that Arsenal need a striker in order to go to the next level. “If you want to win major trophies, you have to be the best in the market, no?" Arteta said before the trip to Southampton on the final day of the season. “What is clear with the amount of injuries that we had in the front line is that we need a goal threat and we need firepower.

“Understanding that the context can change tomorrow, we cannot rely just on the numbers that we had before. We have to add goals, creativity, and we have to add numbers, and that will be in different positions.”