Fans believe Mikel Arteta may have let slip Viktor Gyokeres’ impending arrival from Sporting as he was asked about the striker at a press conference on day one of Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia.
Speculation surrounding Gyokeres’ future has dominated the the headlines ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Singapore, with updates arriving at a pace throughout the course of the summer.
The Gunners have already wrapped up deals for Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga and the club are privately confident that Gyokeres will be the fifth new recruit through the doors at the Emirates.
Gyokeres is understood to be Arsenal’s primary target up front and personal terms have been agreed with the prolific 27-year-old forward, who scored 54 goals in 42 games for Sporting last season.
However, a fee is still yet to be agreed with the Portuguese champions and Manchester United remain a serious threat to Arsenal’s hopes of luring Gyokeres to north London ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
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Some reports emanating out of Portugal at the weekend suggested Arsenal’s move for Gyokeres was hanging in the balance, with the Swede’s father said to have broken down in tears as talks continue to stall.
Asked how close Arsenal are to signing Gyokeres, Arteta told reporters: ‘You know I cannot comment on any player that is not part of our group yet.
‘When we have something concrete to offer in any case, to any player, we will do that.’
Arsenal supporters have been ready ready to latch onto any possible hints or signs of positivity regarding a deal for Gyokeres – and it’s fair to say Arteta’s use of the word ‘yet’ has got many fans a little excited on social media.
Some began welcoming Gyokeres to the club upon hearing Arteta’s supposed clue, while others jokingly shared gifs of the Spaniard’s face superimposed on a well-known gif of Arsene Wenger smirking prior to Mesut Ozil’s arrival in 2013.
Arteta confirmed that Arsenal’s hierarchy were working hard behind the scenes to strengthen, while admitting that his first-team squad remains ‘short in terms of numbers’ in certain areas.
‘There’s still a long time in the window and we are seeking,’ he added.
‘We are short in terms of numbers and we have to improve the depth and the quality of the squad.
‘We are constantly looking in the market but we’ve got to focus on the players that we actually have, work with them and I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen so far in the first ten to 15 days.’
The Arsenal head coach is ‘very pleased’ with the support he has received from sporting director Andrea Berta and the rest of the board in the transfer market.
‘Ideally, you want it [all transfer business] for day one of pre-season so we’ve done very, very well so far,’ he continued.
‘I’m very pleased with the way the club is supporting the necessities and improvements that we required in the team.
‘I think Andrea [Berta] and the team are doing an excellent job as well, trying to push everything forwards.
‘There’s still a long time to go in the window and we have a lot of hopes that we can still improve the team. We’re going to continue to try to do that.’
Asked whether Arsenal are ahead of schedule with their transfer dealings, Arteta replied: ‘I’m very pleased, that’s what I would say.
‘There are a lot of parties and a lot of things that we have to bear in mind to get a player over the line, but I’m very that we’re going to do it soon.
‘It’s exciting. The moment that you see the club with an ownership and the ambition that they have, the alignment that we had with everybody on the board, with everybody that is connected with Andrea.’
After several months of back and forth, Arsenal finally announced that a deal had been completed for Real Sociedad Zubimendi earlier this month – and Arteta has been blown away by the immediate impact his fellow countryman has made on the training field.
‘It was a long, long process and he had a lot of opportunities to decide whether to come,’ he explained.
‘The good news is that this club is amazing and everybody wants to come to it.
‘He left some very good opportunities to come to us and he’s been very impressive. I think we’re all very impressed with what we’ve seen in the last seven to 10 days.
‘Once you have the player daily there, you see his character, his personality, his intelligence and how much he’s going to bring to the dream. I’m very excited about him.’
Arteta is similarly ‘excited’ about the arrival of Madueke, who became Arsenal’s eighth signing from Chelsea in the last ten years.
‘It’s probably because they have some great players and a lot of players!’ Arteta joked.
‘But yeah, we try to focus on the players that we want to sign.
‘The squad and the quality of the squad, also I want to congratulate them for winning the Club World Cup because I think it was a big achievement for them.
‘With Noni, I’m very, very excited. You saw the reaction of all the players as well, especially the ones that know them very well..
‘He needs a little bit of a break now but he will be with us soon, showing what he is going to bring to the team.’
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