Arsenal's striker hunt is over - but what will Gyokeres bring?

Viktor Gyokeres was the top scorer in Europe's 10 leading leagues last season

"Arsenal just need to sign a striker."

It's probably a phrase manager Mikel Arteta is sick of hearing.

While it would be far too simplistic to say the Gunners' five-year trophy drought is down to their failure to land a frontman, it has undoubtedly played a part.

Well, now they have one.

Viktor Gyokeres will arrive at the Emirates with a big reputation, having scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting, and adding 26 assists.

He will be the latest signing in a busy summer for Arteta, who has already recruited midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and winger Noni Madueke, while he will also add Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera.

That would all take Arsenal's summer spending to £210m - the most spent in one transfer window during Arteta's tenure.

But, as they attempt to win their first trophy since the FA Cup in 2020 and look to improve on three successive second-place finishes in the Premier League, the arrival of Gyokeres will be the most exciting for Gunners fans.

Could the 27-year-old former Brighton and Coventry striker be the man to bring silverware back to the Emirates?

How much did Arsenal need a striker?

Anyone glancing at the Premier League table may question why there has been so much focus on Arsenal's need to sign a striker.

They were the third-highest scorers last season as they again proved the closest challengers to the champions - this time, Liverpool.

But that doesn't tell the whole story.

Arsenal scored 22 fewer goals in the league last season than they did in 2023-24.

That lack of cutting edge contributed to them falling well behind Liverpool and also meant they were unable to turn possession into goals as they were knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-finals by Paris St-Germain.

As former Manchester City defender Micah Richards told BBC Sport last season: "The difference between Arsenal winning the league or winning these ties is just a centre-forward."

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins, RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko and Newcastle's Alexander Isak are three of the strikers the Gunners have explored moves for in recent times.

But some Arsenal supporters will argue they have been screaming out for a new forward since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the club in 2022. He was their last 20-goals-a-season striker in the league - back in the 2019-20 season.

Kai Havertz was the Gunners' top scorer in the Premier League last season - his nine goals put him joint 26th in the standings.

He added six in other competitions, but 15 is still some way short of what would be expected from a striker in a team fighting for multiple trophies.

Before Gyokeres, the only two recognised strikers Arteta had recruited were Gabriel Jesus and Havertz - both of whom can play other roles but do have plenty of experience leading the line.

To put that in context, Arsenal's four summer signings to date prior to Gyokeres took Arteta's recruitment to 35 players - either permanently or on loan - in five seasons. Kepa is the sixth goalkeeper he has brought in.

Winger Leandro Trossard and midfielder Mikel Merino have both played up front at times, but that was largely as a result of injuries to Jesus and Havertz and underlined his lack of options.

Is Gyokeres the answer?

Gyokeres finished the 2024-25 Primeira Liga season with 39 goals - no other player reached 20

Goalscoring is Gyokeres' most obvious attribute, and there is no doubt he has been a goal machine in Portugal.

His 39 goals ranked as the most in Europe's top 10 leagues last season, and he scored at least eight more than any other player.

It put him in an elite group - the only other players in the past 20 years to have scored at least 39 goals in a season in one of Europe's top 10 leagues are Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Luis Suarez.

Twelve of Gyokeres' Primeira Liga goals were penalties, but his total of 27 non-penalty goals was still three more than anyone else. He averaged 4.5 shots per 90 minutes, while Jesus had 3.0 and Havertz 2.6 in the Premier League.

He also had a mammoth 327 touches in the opposition box and appeared to adopt a 'shoot on sight' policy with 139 efforts on goal - effectively one every 20 minutes.

His accuracy was even more impressive.

The Swede's shot-conversion rate (excluding blocked shots and penalties) of 27.3% was better than Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah (21.1%), Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (21.6%) and Newcastle centre-forward Isak (26.4%).

Indeed only Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood had a better conversion rate in the Premier League.

Gyokeres also scored nine goals in six games for his country - including four in one match against Azerbaijan - in the 2024-25 Nations League, finishing the tournament as top scorer.

The question is whether Gyokeres can be quite so prolific in a stronger league. He has now turned 27 and is still to play a single game in Europe's top five divisions.

Data analysts Opta rank the Portuguese Primeira Liga as eighth in the world's strongest leagues, behind the usual big five (England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France), the Belgian Jupiler Pro League and even the English Championship, where Gyokeres impressed before moving to Lisbon.

Sceptics will point to Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez struggling for consistency in England after scoring 26 goals in 28 Primeira Liga games for Benfica during the 2021-22 season.

But Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, Manchester City's Ruben Dias and Bournemouth's Evanilson have all thrived in the Premier League after moves from Portugal.

And Gyokeres brings more than goals.

The 6ft 2in striker is known for his intelligent movement and intense work-rate, and his blend of physical strength, technical skill and tactical awareness have earned him admiring glances.

He is a creator as well as a goalscorer, with a lot of his chance creation coming from his love of running with the ball.

After failing to make the grade at Brighton, Gyokeres joined Coventry for a small fee in July 2021 after an unspectacular return of three goals in 19 Championship appearances during a loan spell with the Sky Blues.

Two years later he went to Sporting for £20.5m after scoring 38 times in 91 league games for Coventry across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

In Portugal he became a scoring machine. As he returns to England, only time will tell if he can replicate that success against elite-level defences.