Striker Viktor Gyokeres can make coach Mikel Arteta and Arsenal fall into an awkward situation, if he completes the transfer to the Emirates Stadium this summer.
The 27 -year -old Swedish striker, almost certainly joined Arsenal before the 2025/26 Premier League season, after the brilliant football season with Sporting Lisbon with 54 goals in 52 matches, helping the club win the domestic championship including the league and the Portuguese National Cup.
According to journalist David Ornstein of The Athletic, Arsenal entered the final stage of the negotiation, with an agreement worth 63.5 million euros fixed fees plus 10 million euros. Even Gyokeres representative is said to have given up the commission fee for the soon to complete the deal.
On the Podcast Sky Sports Back Pages, Ornstein added: “Currently, the two sides have reached an agreement in principle, about 63.5 million euros + 10 million euros fees, but still need detailed how to calculate that charge. Sporting wants 10 million euros to be guaranteed, and Arsenal wants more flexible activation conditions.”
These are common problems during the contract closing phase and may cause the deal to extend. If everything is completed, Gyokeres will be Arsenal's fourth rookie this summer, after Kepa Arrizabalaga (goalkeeper), Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi (midfielder).
However, the appearance of Gyokeres can cause an awkward situation related to the number of shirts – which can affect two other players. While playing for Coventry City, Gyokeres played at 17. After that, when joining Sporting, he moved to number 9, and is likely to continue to keep this shirt at Arsenal.
However, No. 9 is currently belonging to Gabriel Jesus, who has put this since leaving Man City to Arsenal in 2022. Although Jesus has been nursing after an anterior traumatic ligament injury (ACL) since January, he is still a pillar in the squad.
In case Gyokeres accepted shirt number 17, it coincided with Oleksandr Zinchenko, who wore this number from the beginning of the 2024/25 season. But Zinchenko last season only played 15 matches due to the loss of the main kick in the young talent Myles Lewis-Skelly, so it was not sure to keep his position and number of shirts.
Both options lead to the possibility of “internal negotiations” of shirts, and this may be a sensitive topic, especially if Arsenal wants to pamper the aspiration of the expensive and expected contract like Gyokeres.
