ARSENAL have agreed the signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon – and he has taken Thierry Henry’s iconic shirt number.
The Emirates faithful have been crying out for manager Mikel Arteta to sign a new striker for well over a year.
GETTYArsenal agreed the signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon[/caption]
And the Spaniard has finally delivered with the £63.5million signing of highly-coveted Sweden international Gyokeres all agreed with an official announcement imminent.
Gyokeres, 27, will ink a five-year contract at the Emirates with a medical expected over the weekend.
Arsenal will pay Portuguese giants Sporting, who were reluctant to let their talismanic striker leave, £54.8m up front.
SunSport understands the deal’s add-ons, which include a goal clause and payments should the Gunners qualify for the Champions League, are in the region of £8.7m.
Gyokeres will wear the No14 made so famous by Gunners great Henry – inheriting it from Eddie Nketiah.
The deal was briefly in doubt after Sporting refused to honour what Gyokeres believed to be a gentleman’s agreement allowing him to leave the Portuguese capital for £60m.
The Swede was irate at the blocking of his exit and vowed not to play or train for the club ever again.
Further talks were held between Arsenal and the Sporting brass this past weekend in the hopes of keeping the deal alive.
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And they resulted in the north Londoners going over the Portuguese club’s £60m valuation of their star man.
Gyokeres has forgone a whopping £1.7m in wages to seal a move to the Emirates.
The former Coventry has snubbed a reunion with former manager Ruben Amorim at Manchester United to seal a much-desired move to the Emirates.
SunSport understands he had his heart set on joining the Gunners from the moment the transfer window opened.
Gyokeres has joined the Gunners in time to go on the club’s pre-season trip to Hong Kong and Singapore this weekend.
The Swede’s arrival at the Emirates has given Arteta’s squad a massive boost in firepower.
Gyokeres scored a whopping 52 goals and provided 13 assists in 54 appearances for the Portuguese giants last season.
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