Arsenal decision proved right as Gyokeres fails to impress vs PSV
|Arsenal were widely tipped to sign a new striker during the recent summer transfer window.
Viktor Gyokeres was mentioned as one of the top targets, but the club eventually decided against making an approach.
Sporting CP wanted his £84 million release clause to be paid, but Arsenal made it known that they would not meet the price.
In our view, the club have been proved right after Gyokeres’ tough outing against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
Gyokeres has been a revelation in Portuguese football where he has scored a staggering 48 goals in just 49 appearances.
However, his progress will surely be judged by how he performs in the Champions League this term.
The Swede scored in the 2-0 win over Lille at home last month, but he had a frustrating outing versus PSV on the road.
The 26-year-old failed to register a single shot on or off target as he was comfortably handled by centre-back Ryan Flamingo.
Gyokeres lost possession on 16 occasions with just 14 passes. He was guilty of committing three fouls during the game.
The former Coventry City man still has three more away trips in the league phase of the competition.
It remains to be seen whether he can turn up with strong performances to make a statement.
For now, Arsenal and sporting director Edu have been proved right with the decision not to pay the buy-out clause for him.
The Gunners are probably wary of spending big, considering the mixed fortunes of Darwin Nunez since his move from Portugal.
Nunez scored 34 goals in his final season at Benfica, but has netted the same number of goals in 103 outings for Liverpool.
Stats from Sofascore.com