Arsenal are making considerable moves to try and sign Viktor Gyokeresafter formalising their interest in the Swede, which football.london is aware has been in place since before the 2024 summer window. That said, it is widely known that Benjamin Sesko was the club’s preference when they began executing their summer plans for this current market.

While clubs might have favourites, lists, rankings and preferences, there is always a lot of context alongside everything that happens. The club have been wary of the timeline regarding a striker and the high-profile knowledge of their obvious desire to sign one.

Getting the player in before the pre-season tour of Asia was high up in Mikel Arteta’s list of wants, and therefore, with negotiations underway with both RB Leipzig, Sporting CP, Sesko and Gyokeres for some time, the angst has grown.

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In that time, Arsenal have moved to other positions, such as a backup goalkeeper in Kepa Arrizabalaga and the new defensive midfield starter, Martin Zubimendi, replacing Thomas Partey. Christian Norgaard is expected to come in to replace the departed Jorginho, while the club is also in talks with Valencia over a deal for Cristhian Mosquera.

Some have been asking why they haven’t prioritised a move for a striker sooner. The answer is that despite what we see on the surface, the reality and the bigger picture are different.

football.london broke how Andrea Berta would change Arsenal’s approach to transfers, how they would engage in protracted negotiations with multiple targets for the same role to position themselves best before pouncing or pivoting if need be. It is a pivot which has occurred in this case.

Despite long talks with Leipzig over a deal, the German side have not budged on a valuation which Arsenal deemed too high. The club, while having their preferences, refused to be bullied into paying a fee well over their valuation and, as a result, are moving on to Gyokeres.

Another benefit is the Swede's desire to move to the club. While many of the difficulties that were alleged regarding Sesko and personal terms are thought not to be accurate, and the Slovenian believed this summer to be keen on the move, Gyokeres has gone the extra mile to try and make this deal happen.

The hope is that Arsenal can swiftly agree to the move with the Portuguese side and that Gyokeres can join the team, which is beginning pre-season training this week, including a warm-weather training camp in Spain. They will then fly to Asia for their pre-season tour, where Gyokeres could make his debut.