Arsenal ready to pay £56m asking price for “star” after accelerating talks

Arsenal are believed to be prepared to fork out one club’s asking price for their star player, with Mikel Arteta’s side deciding to speed up their move for him recently.

Mikel Arteta “very excited” about Arsenal’s next transfer window

Following the arrival of new sporting director Andrea Berta in late March, Arteta admitted that Arsenal are set for a “big” summer of business.

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Top target: Arsenal and Berta in talks to seal early deal for £60m striker

The Gunners have a new top target at striker, and negotiations are ongoing to convince him to move to the Emirates Stadium.

According to recent reports, Arsenal could spend up to £300 million on as many as seven major signings, after missing out on this year’s Premier League title to Liverpool by some distance, with Arteta claiming he is “excited” by the prospect of Berta’s debut transfer window.

“It’s going to be a big one (summer) and we are very excited about it.

“When you are going to go again, we want to increase the depth of the squad and the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step. Every summer is big because it is an opportunity and especially because of the number of players we have in the squad right now, that is necessary.

“But it’s a big summer for many things because first of all we have to maintain the good foundations that we have and then obviously how can we improve and evolve the team.”

Arsenal are targeting a prolific new striker as one key item on their agenda, with injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus exposing Arteta’s serious lack of options in that area of the Gunners squad.

A number of interesting names have been linked since Berta’s appointment, but Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres is consistently being mentioned as a potential signing above all.

The Sweden international’s phenomenal haul of 47 goals and 11 assists in all competitions is turning heads at the Emirates Stadium, and Gyokeres is rumoured to be a top target for Arsenal in their pursuit of a number nine.

Arsenal ready to pay £56m asking price for Viktor Gyokeres

According to a Spanish report, as cited by Football 365, another update has come to light on Arsenal’s serious interest in the former Coventry City star.

As per their information, Arsenal are prepared to pay Sporting’s “demand” of £56 million for Gyokeres after accelerating their move for the Scandinavian “in recent weeks”, with Arteta’s side viewing the “star striker” as an ideal signing to take them up to another level.

£56 million seems like a bargain for a prolific star of Gyokeres’ ilk, but previous reports have also claimed that Sporting are ready to let him go for less than his initial £86 million release clause.

The 26-year-old could end up being one of the best buys of the summer after two incredible seasons in the Primeira Liga, and Gyokeres may be the proven scorer who Arteta has been crying out for.