Arsenal sent clear Viktor Gyokeres transfer warning ahead of imminent arrival

Arsenal are expecting to announce the signing of Viktor Gyokeres in the coming days after finally agreeing a deal with Sporting Lisbon worth around £63m – with a medical set for the weekend

Arsenal legend Sol Campbell has warned that Viktor Gyokeres might not be enough to help the Gunners win the Premier League title and believes they might need two top strikers to battle Liverpool.

Gyokeres is on the verge of finally sealing his long-awaited move to the Emirates after talks with Sporting Lisbon dragged on for much of the summer.

Arsenal have agreed to pay the Portuguese club around £54.8million, plus £8.7m in add-ons and the Sweden international is expected to undergo a medical this weekend ahead of joining his team-mates on their pre-season tour of Singapore.

The Gunners will be hopeful Gyokeres can fire the team to silverware after five years without a trophy, having been blown away by Liverpool last season without a recognised No 9 up front for much of the campaign.

But Campbell – who won two Premier League titles at Arsenal and three FA Cups – has insisted that two strikers are necessary in case Gyokeres becomes injured.

READ MORE: Arsenal transfer news: Viktor Gyokeres medical booked as four players braced for exitsREAD MORE: Viktor Gyokeres transfer ‘confirmed’ by Arsenal target’s DENTIST as statement released

Last season, Liverpool won the title with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, while Mohamed Salah scored the bulk of the goals from the wing.

“You need two strikers to trouble other teams,” he told the Sun via BetSelect. “You can’t always rely on just one striker as if he gets injured, the team’s performance drops. So it’s important to have a main one and have another really good backup. Sometimes they can play together, sometimes one’s on the bench and the other comes on.

“It can be good to get a slightly older one who’s been there, seen it, and done it, and can come on when you need something to happen for 20 minutes, but they’re top, top quality.

“If you pick the second striker properly, they can come on to make a difference. That’s something you have to do. So if they do get two strikers, they could definitely become champions.

“That’s the type of player who has been missing, somebody who has scored 20-25 goals just in the league. It’s okay to say, ‘he’s got all of these goals in all of these competitions,’ but that’s not good enough; that’s not going to win you the Premier League. You need goals to get you over the line and make up point differences.”

Gyokeres scored 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting Lisbon last season and is seen as one of the best strikers in world football right now.

He is set to become the club’s sixth signing of the window after Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera.

Arsenal, who have handed Gyokeres the iconic number 14 shirt once worn by Thierry Henry, are hoping to fly the player out to Asia soon as they prepare for games against Newcastle and Tottenham.

Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.