In a few weeks, Arsenal will begin the 2025/26 Premier League campaign, and their eyes will be riveted on the prize.
Having fallen short in each of the past three seasons, the Gunners know that this is a big one, with Mikel Arteta’s side having gone five years without silverware.
But the improvements have been vast, these recent years. A lack of trophies aside, this has been an incredible resurgence for a giant who had been cast to the wayside before.
There’s a strong case for Arsenal’s unfortunate injury record across the 2024/25 term to have impeded them in their pursuit of glory, but Arteta has revised the issues and made some impactful summer signings to take his squad to the next level.
And the months of work have now been crowned by the addition of Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres.
Why Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres
Technically, Gyokeres isn’t yet an official Arsenal player, but the centre-forward has been the subject of an agreed £64m deal that will see him stand as Arteta’s chief goal-getter over the coming years.
The Sweden international scored 97 goals and added 28 assists across 102 matches for Sporting, winning the Liga Portugal in both of his seasons at the club.
Aged 27, he’s in the prime of his career, described by former Coventry City coach Adi Viveash as being a “physical machine”. He has what it takes to become one of the leading Premier League strikers of his era, rivalling the best over the coming years.
1)
Viktor Gyokeres
33
39
2)
Kylian Mbappe
34
31
3)
Mohamed Salah
38
29
4)
Robert Lewandowski
34
27
5)
Victor Osimhen
30
26
5=
Harry Kane
31
26
There’s no question that Gyokeres will be a fantastic signing for Arsenal, but there remains that slight uncertainty, for he has yet to ply his trade in the Premier League.
However, Arsenal are lining up another star who could prove to be an even better signing – and that’s not to Gyokeres’ discredit.
Arsenal agree fee for Premier League star
According to Football Transfers, Arsenal are confident that they will complete the signing of Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze this summer, having agreed to pay his £68m release clause through a series of manageable instalments.
Eze scored the winning goal as Palace won the FA Cup final against Manchester City last season, and has been expected to leave for a new challenge, having already agreed personal terms with the Gunners.
The £100k-per-week talent has also attracted interest from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, but it’s Arteta’s side who are set to enjoy his qualities next season and beyond, should the finer details of the transfer go through without a hitch.
What Eberechi Eze would bring to Arsenal
Like Gyokeres, Eze is 27, and would provide the Gunners with maturity and completeness of development. The Three Lions star’s 2024/25 season proved to the world that he has what it takes to become a star member of one of Europe’s elite outfits.
Pundit Rio Ferdinand hailed his “unique” style of play back in March, going on to claim he could “play for one of the top teams” in the world.
A dribble-happy attacking midfielder, Eze’s low centre of gravity, immense core strength and skilled passing game make him a difficult opponent indeed, with so many different ways to hurt his opponents.
Typically used as a left-sided midfielder by Oliver Glasner over the past 18 months, Eze completed 82% of his passes in the Premier League last term, as per Sofascore, while averaging two dribbles, 1.7 key passes and 4.8 successful duels per game, underscoring his roundedness.
Attacking midfield
74
25
11
Left winger
52
9
7
Central midfield
25
6
3
Right winger
3
0
0
His ability to shift, seamlessly, between the left flank and a more central attacking position bespeaks his sharpness and intelligence. Eze, in this regard, could plug two holes for Arteta, with both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli linked with moves away this summer.
While Eze has become more potent over the past few years, he remains a robust physical profile who could dynamise the club’s overall attacking build-up.
As per FBref, he ranked last season among the top 11% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe for shot-creating actions, the top 10% for successful take-ons and the top 14% for ball recoveries per 90.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
There’s no question that Gyokeres would bring to Arsenal a newfound degree of goalscoring quality, but there’s also no doubt that Eze has a skill set so impressive that he could come to nail down a starting berth on the left flank and emerge as one of Arteta’s most trusted lieutenants.
Will Arsenal’s soon-to-be-sealed striker hit the ground running in England’s top flight? Will he manage to retain that same level of destructive brilliance in tougher conditions, against steelier defenders?
These are the questions, and we shall soon find out. In any case, Eze has built himself up over a number of years in Europe’s highest-quality division, and, of course, with Gyokeres as a target man in the middle, both could enjoy the fruits of each other’s labours.
In Gyokeres, Arsenal will secure the centre-forward they have desired over the past several years. However, Eze might prove to be the better signing, all things considered.
His higher fee reflects that, and so does the consistency for Palace in the Premier League over the past five years, even leading analyst Ben Mattinson to call him a “superstar”.
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