Most top-10 league goals in Europe
©IMAGO
Arsenal may finally be signing a striker. There has been furore for the north London clubs to invest in a new no.9 for some time, and the Gunners are reportedly now in advanced talks to sign Sporting goal-machine Viktor Gyökeres. According to The Athletic, personal terms are agreed with the player on a five-year deal, with negotiations continuing between the two clubs over the fee. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is pushing to have the situation brought to a swift conclusion ahead of his squad’s return to pre-season training this July.
Arsenal had also been chasing RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko, but reports suggest that the German’s club refusal to lower their asking price for the Slovenian has forced the Gunners to move on. The north London club’s new Sporting Director Andrea Berta has been known to be an admirer of Gyökeres for some time. Th Sweden international was signed by Sporting from Championship side Coventry in 2023 for €24m, and has been ridiculously prolific in both of his seasons in Portugal. He now has a market value of €75m, and no player in Europe’s top-10 leagues has scored more goals than Gyökeres since he joined Sporting. But will the 27-year-old be able to replicate his incredible numbers in Liga Portugal in the world’s most valuable division – the Premier League?
Can Viktor Gyökeres replicate goalscoring record in the Premier League?
As illustrated in the graphic above, no player in Europe’s top-10 leagues has scored more league goals than Gyökeres’ 68 goals in 66 games over the last two seasons – since the Swede signed for Sporting. Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane comes closest with 62 goals. However, those numbers shouldn’t be a pre-requisite to assume Gyökeres will be a huge success at Arsenal. Firstly, the standard of Liga Portugal is nowhere near that of the Premier League, and across his entire career, Gyökeres has never played a single game in a top-five league (Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1).
We should also take into consideration that 17 of those 68 goals have been penalties. Nevertheless to caveat those points, it should also be noted that last season Arteta managed to get a decent tune out to midfielder Mikel Merino up front, who had never played their in his entire career. He has also transformed Kai Havertz into a striker during the German’s time at the Emirates. If Arteta can work with players like that and extract decent performances as a striker, there is the feeling that he could do wonders with a natural goalscorer like Gyökeres.
However, at the age of 27, the Swede will be expected to hit the ground running in north London. They need results now, and will be hoping goal-machine Gyökeres can replicate his form in Portugal in the English top-flight and help Arsenal finally win a major trophy once again.