Viktor Gyokeres transfer surprise admitted after ‘desperate’ Arsenal signed him
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As Viktor Gyokeres prepares for his start to life at Arsenal, one former Premier League manager has outlined their surprise about the Swedish star
Tony Pulis admits he was not surprised “desperate” Arsenal got a deal over the line for Viktor Gyokeres – but he is stunned no Premier League teams tried to sign him when he was scoring goals for Coventry City.
Gyokeres, 27, recently joined the Gunners from Sporting Lisbon in a deal worth around £63.7million. His arrival brought an end to Mikel Arteta’s side’s pursuit of a striker.
Having contributed 97 goals and 28 assists in 102 appearances for Sporting, many have touted Gyokeres as the final piece of the puzzle for Arsenal, who have finished second for the last three Premier League campaigns in a row. While the ex-Stoke City and West Brom manager knew Arsenal would eventually wrap up a deal, he is stunned nobody in the Premier League took a chance on him earlier.
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Speaking to sports betting site Betvictor, Pulis said: “Mikel Arteta has been under enormous pressure to bring in a centre forward and there is a lot riding on it. But I was very impressed with Gyokeres at Coventry City.
“I thought he did fantastically well there and I was very, very surprised that a team from the lower level of the Premier League didn’t take a chance with him, didn’t take a punt on him.
“But he’s gone over there to Portugal and he’s done exceptionally well. Let’s see how he does. It’s a really, really interesting one next year because Arsenal will create lots of chances.
“Arteta has given him the chance – they are a fantastic football club but they are also desperate. A Premier League title would be unbelievable for them, it’s a big season for Mikel Arteta.”
Gyokeres’ debut season at Coventry was a slow one, as he only managed to contribute three goals in 19 appearances in the 2020-21 campaign. He found his feet the following year when he contributed 17 goals and five assists, before exploding in his final season with a remarkable tally of 21 goals and 10 assists, as the club fell just short of promotion.
While there were some faint links to the Premier League, Sporting were the club who went all out to sign him for a club record £20m. They have recouped their fee and so much more from the north Londoners.
Last season, goals proved to be the Gunners’ downfall. They boasted the best defence in the Premier League by a large margin, only shipping 34 goals with the second best record being held by champions Liverpool, who conceded 41.
However, an inability to finish off teams saw them score 69 goals, 17 fewer than the Merseysiders. Arsenal’s tally last season was 22 fewer than the 91 goals they mustered in the 2023-24 campaign, where they finished just two points behind Manchester City.
Gyokeres will be expected to be the main source of goals at the Emirates Stadium. Yet, Pulis has warned the Swede he will find it tougher in the Premier League than he did in Portugal. The Welshman added: “The Portuguese league is massively different.
“There are similarities to Holland, in that there are three or four really good teams, no disrespect to the others, but the big clubs have a much higher standard of players and more depth in their squads. Those teams end up finishing at the top comfortably, and that’s what will change for Viktor Gyokeres; he is going to be playing against a level of team week in week out that he isn’t used to, at Arsenal.”
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