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Opinion
Andrea Berta should target £60m striker instead of Viktor Gyokeres for Arsenal
By all accounts, Andrea Berta has arrived at Arsenal with plans to add Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres to Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Berta was a fan of Gyokeres’ talent whilst he was still working at Atletico Madrid and the striker is now emerging as a viable alternative to Newcastle’s Alexander Isak.
Newcastle are determined to keep Isak and given that the Magpies are closing in on a Champions League place, they’re likely to succeed.
Therefore, Arsenal are looking at several strikers instead of Isak, with Gyokeres emerging as one of the most prominent options.
But although the Sweden international has scored 87 goals in 94 games for Sporting CP, would he be the right fit for Arsenal?
Andrea Berta could be making a mistake with Viktor Gyokeres
On the face of it, Gyokeres doesn’t necessarily seem like the right choice for Arsenal this summer, even if he has scored an absurd amount of goals in Portugal.
The Sporting striker predominantly excels when moves from wide areas to get in behind opposition defences, something which might compromise Arsenal’s wingers to some degree.
When a lot of fans and pundits are watching Arsenal and calling out for a new number nine, it’s predominantly because there’s not a central target to get on the end of balls across the box.
And whilst Gyokeres is a great goalscorer, he’s not a fox-in-the-box type, he’s not a great header of the ball and he actually thrives on fast counters.
Gyokeres would undoubtedly score goals playing for Arsenal, but he’s perhaps not the Kai Havertz upgrade that many have been waiting for.
Hugo Ekitike is the right striker for Arsenal
Instead of Gyokeres, Arsenal should explore a deal for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike who is ready to follow in the footsteps of some of the great French number nines in north London.
Fortunately, Arsenal have held talks with Ekitike at a very preliminary stage to explore how available the striker might be in the coming months.
READ MORE: How Arsenal feel about keeping Thomas Partey as Barcelona continue to show interest
And where Gyokeres perhaps isn’t suited to Mikel Arteta’s team, 22-year-old Ekitike absolutely is.
Frankfurt would be willing to sell Ekitike for around the £60m mark this summer and he presents a much more similar skillset to Isak than Gyokeres.
The Frenchman has excellent link-up play, loves to attack the box and clearly still has tons of potential to fulfill.
And whilst some may be concerned that Arsenal should be buying the readymade impact striker, Ekitike could still be that immediately as he improves on the job.
Gyokeres wouldn’t be a bad signing for Arsenal by any means, but Berta might be making a smarter choice were he to opt for Ekitike, Europe’s best Isak alternative.