Arsenal news: Gunners set to rival Barcelona for wonderkid as Viktor Gyokeres gets verdict

Mirror Football takes a look at three of the biggest stories around Arsenal, including an Invincibles member’s assessment of Viktor Gyokeres and an admission from transfer target Rodrygo

Despite the external clamour over it being a ‘now or never’ season for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, the Gunners are in an enviable position. The Spaniard has improved the north Londoners year on year, most recently finishing second in the Premier League and reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009.

They’ve built on that by addressing the primary issue that derailed their season last term, injuries and a lack of depth, pulling off the greatest summer transfer window in the club’s history by bringing in eight players.

The early signs this season have shown that Arsenal are a force to be reckoned with, with many pundits tipping them as one of the favourites to win both the Premier League and the Champions League.

Sunday afternoon’s clash with rivals Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium provides the perfect opportunity to signal their intent, with three points allowing them to keep reigning champions Liverpool under pressure.

Mirror Football now brings you three of the biggest stories involving the Gunners ahead of that tantalising fixture.

READ MORE: Who is Tim Lewis and what was his job at Arsenal as he stuns Mikel Arteta by quittingREAD MORE: Mikel Arteta told to make bold Eberechi Eze change for Arsenal vs Man City

‘Fans didn’t want Gyokeres’

Former Arsenal and City defender Gael Clichy has suggested that the Gunners faithful would have preferred to sign Alexander Isak instead of Viktor Gyokeres this summer. Despite in the past being linked with Isak, who ended up joining Liverpool for a British record transfer fee, Arteta and Andrea Berta ended their long search for a striker by signing his Sweden team-mate Gyokeres for £64m.

The striker’s start to life at the Emirates has been mixed as, despite scoring three goals in four Premier League games, he has often been on the periphery of matches and his build-up play has sometimes been uninspiring.

Clichy told BetMGM: “Is he the player that the Arsenal fans wanted? I don’t think so. We saw Alexander Isak get linked with Arsenal and I think every team in Europe would have wanted him – but Gyökeres did have a very good record in Portugal and you have to give him credit for that.”

But the Arsenal Invincible is refusing to count out the No. 14, stating that he adds a different dimension to Arteta’s new-look attack. “He’s not a typical Arsenal player in that he’s pretty old-school in what he does, but that is also something they didn’t have before,” Clichy added.

“It looks to me as if Arteta wants his wide players like [Eberechi] Eze and [Bukayo] Saka to isolate the opposition full-backs and put the ball in the box. If the wingers can do this, you’d imagine opponents will need to double up on them and that leaves more space for the likes of Gyökeres.

“I don’t doubt he’ll get chances and he’ll score goals, but how quickly he adapts to the Premier League is the big question.”

Rodrygo’s Arsenal admission

Brazilian forward Rodrygo has suggested he never intended to leave Real Madrid this summer, despite being heavily linked with a move. The 24-year-old appeared to have fallen out of favour under new Los Blancos boss Xabi Alonso when the Spaniard first arrived, having had limited involvement during the Club World Cup.

There were suggestions Rodrygo was growing frustrated and the Guardian claimed Arsenal, along with their rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, were ‘attentive’ to the situation, prepared to swoop in if tensions heightened over the summer. But a move did not materialise and Arsenal eventually signed Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke.

Now, the two-time Champions League winner has told TNT Sports Brazil, via Mundo Deportivo, that he was never rushing to find his next club. “I’m used to it; every year they say I’m leaving. During the transfer window, every week I was on a different team,” he explained after Real’s Champions League clash with Marseille this week.

“I even joked with my parents and friends: ‘Look, today I’m on this one, tomorrow I’m on that one.’ Every week I was on a different team, but, as I said, I was very calm mentally and it didn’t affect me at all.

“I continued enjoying my vacation, training because I knew this was where I would continue. Well, in the end, I’m still at home, in the place I always dreamed of being. I’ll continue giving my all every day I wear this shirt.”

Arsenal track Barcelona target

Arsenal are reportedly ready to battle with Barcelona for the signature of 19-year-old Palmeiras left-back Luiz Benedetti ahead of the 2026 winter transfer window. According to Mundo Deportivo, the Brazilian wonderkid is on both the Catalans and the Gunners’ radar, while Serie A champions Napoli have shown interest too.

That’s despite Arteta already having plenty of options available to him on the left side of the defence, including Italian star Riccardo Calafiori, England international Myles Lewis-Skelly and recent £45million signing Piero Hincapie.

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