The January transfer window is less than a month away from opening now. It is the perfect opportunity, midway through the season, for clubs and managers to give their squad a boost for the second half of the campaign.
For Arsenal it will be a case of trying to add a bit of firepower to help them chase down Liverpool in the Premier League title race. The Gunners are nine points adrift of the Reds after 13 matches and needing a run of consistent results, as well as a slip-up from Liverpool, to get back in amongst it.
Arsenal were in the market for a striker in the summer transfer window, but opted instread to sign a forward, rather than an out-and-out striker, with Raheem Sterling arriving on loan from Chelsea. It is fair to say that deal has not worked out with Sterling playing just 146 minutes of Premier League action, with one assist in that time on the pitch.
While the Gunners are scoring plenty of goals – see a 5-2 win over West Ham on Saturday – their strikers are not exactly plundering at the moment with Kai Havertz netting his first goal in five Premier League games in that match at the London Stadium.
The January window is not usually a busy one for Arsenal, but a new striker could be the difference between taking the title race to the wire with Liverpool and not.
Viktor Gyokeres was heavily linked in the summer and is once again being tipped for a move, despite the summer being when his release clause is rumoured to be lowered. Could Arsenal make a January move to steal a march on their rivals?
football.london asked its writers to have their say on whether it was a deal Mikel Arteta should get done sooner rather than later.
Lee Wilmot
Since bagging a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League, Gyokeres has now gone three Sporting CP games without a goal. He is human.
He still has 24 goals and four assists to his name in 21 matches so far this season though and would be an excellent signing for anyone, you would think, given his record.
Do Arsenal need him? Probably, despite their goals output. Will Arsenal pay out £80million-plus to sign him in January? Unlikely.
There is going to come a time when Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard and those play off a central frontman will just have a little blip. Someone as well as Kai Havertz being available to hit the goals trail is a necessity, but it may well be that Arsenal go for a cheaper or younger option in January, if they do any business at all, rather than shelling out on Gyokeres. And that’s probably the right call.
Tom Canton
Should Arsenal go for the most consistent goal-scoring striker on the planet right now? Yes. Will they? Well, that is the golden question of course based on the Swede’s own comments it is not likely to happen at all unless it is in the summer.
Some question why the Gunners should when Kai Havertz is the current side’s top scorer and appears to fit so well in Mikel Arteta’s team. Yet the versatility of the German international is something which would allow the pair to mesh and play in the same side of course.
His buyout clause makes any possible deal easier yet still remains extremely expensive with all the up-front nature that a release agreement of this type has. Arsenal enjoyed a near net-zero summer with incomings and outgoings cancelling each other out financially which should, depending on other needs in the market, allow the club to invest in a marquee player like Gyokeres.
The other candidate is Alexander Isak but seeing Gyokeres against Arsenal and Manchester City this season did enamour me to him slightly more and Isak’s recent injury only rose the apprehension over what a sizeable investment might look like with the attachment of such a risk. While January is expected to come too soon, he is without a doubt a must-buy if they have the chance later on.
Jack Flintham
Ultimately, Arteta must know that if he wants to sign Gyokeres the move has to be completed in the summer or else he has no chance. Manchester United are the clear favourites to sign the Swede thanks to his relationship with Ruben Amorim.
Arsenal may be a more exciting prospect currently but it matters little should United be offering him the same deal. Thanks to Amorim’s noble gesture to avoid signing Sporting players in January, the Gunners know they have just a month to get the deal across the line.
Thanks to the amount of goals created across the pitch, pressure on Gyokeres to perform immediately will be lessened should he move to the Emirates Stadium which could only be seen as a positive in the eyes of the ex-Coventry man. Should he choose United at the end of the season, all the pressure will be on him to score considering their struggles in front of the net.
In my opinion, Gyokeres is a signing that Arsenal need to prioritise to add the final piece to their jigsaw this season.
Sam Truelove
Viktor Gyokeres is a goal machine. His stats are ridiculous, quite frankly. Yet signing a goalscorer of Gyokeres’ calibre comes with a price. And quite a hefty price at that.
Arsenal will probably need to pay the striker’s £85million release clause if they want to sign the 26-year-old in January. That’s a lot of money and, in truth, a deal may well be more likely in the summer.
I actually think Arsenal need more of a versatile forward, someone who can also play on the wing. This is the position I would prioritise with players like Nico Williams, Bryan Mbeumo, Kaoru Mitoma and Raphinha just some of the stars I like. Marcus Rashford is another who I feel Arteta could get the best out of, if Ruben Amorim decides it may be time to move the 27-year-old out of Manchester United.
To conclude I would still sign Gyokeres, but perhaps in the summer instead when the club can move on the likes of Gabriel Jesus to fund some of the transfer. My preference in January? Sign a top winger!
