Viktor Gyokeres is the name that will not go away this summer, with reports linking the Sporting striker to Arsenal persisting as July approaches. ..Read Full Article
Gyokeres, 26, is someone football.london understands the club has an interest in after following closely last season. Benjamin Sesko was another striker on that list of targets before signing a new contract at RB Leipzig prior to the start of the European Championship.
The Netherlands’ Joshua Zirkee is another at the tournament in Germany apparently attracting interest from Arsenal. But they are not the only Premier League club being linked, with Manchester United also believed to be interested.
However, reports from Lisbon-based outlet Leonino suggest Arsenal are coming close to completing the signing of Gyokeres. Financial details are said to be the only part of proceedings preventing a deal from being done.
The player’s £86million release clause is perhaps part of that, which is notably more than double Zirkzee’s £34million price tag. That difference is because Gyokeres can be considered the centre-forward Arsenal are looking for, whereas the Bologna forward is more comparable to what they already have in the squad.
The distinction bears out in their finishing. Across their careers, Gyokeres is more akin to Gabriel Jesus, with both averaging 0.52 goals per 90. Zirkzee, albeit with a much smaller sample size, is at 0.41 with Kai Havertz at 0.36. Gyokeres also has a higher xG per 90 than Zirkzee (0.48 vs 0.3). Of the four, Gyokeres also leads the way for shots per 90 (3.02), shots on target per 90 (1.35), plus shots on target percentage (44.7%).
The Sweden international is simply the more proven player, scoring 104 goals at the age of 26 compared to Zirkzee’s 35 at 23. That is the type of goalscorer that Arsenal need as an actual upgrade of Havertz and Jesus.
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