Arsenal are on the verge of their sixth summer signing – Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres' transfer is in the final stages, while the planned departures of four fringe players including Fabio Vieira and Albert Sambi Lokonga are paving the way for the new arrival.
After weeks of negotiations, Gyokeres is finally set to head to London: the 27-year-old forward will arrive in the UK on Friday to finalize contract details and undergo a medical. It's understood that Arsenal have agreed a base fee of €63.5 million with Sporting Lisbon, plus €10 million in add-ons. Despite missing most of pre-season, he is expected to fly directly to Singapore to join the team on their Asian tour after completing formalities, and may even make an unofficial appearance in Sunday's friendly against Newcastle.
With deals for Gyokeres and Valencia defender Cristian Mosquera nearing completion, sporting director Andrea Berta has shifted focus to "lightening the load". Fabio Vieira, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Reiss Nelson and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all been put up for sale; the four either made few appearances last season or failed to fit into manager Mikel Arteta's tactical system. Among them, Nelson, who was on loan at Fulham, has the approval of Cottagers boss Marco Silva ("It's a shame his momentum was interrupted by injury"), but Fulham have yet to make a formal offer, leaving the player's future uncertain.
While trimming the squad, Arsenal's pursuit of Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze remains deadlocked. The England international's £68 million release clause has deterred the Gunners, and Palace have frozen all transfer talks for key players pending the outcome of their appeal against UEFA's potential disqualification from the Europa Conference League (a ruling is expected by August 11). This means Eze's future will not be resolved until just days before the Premier League season kicks off at the earliest.
From the already signed Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi to the impending arrival of Gyokeres, Arsenal's summer puzzle is gradually taking shape. But to gain an edge in the race for top-four and beyond, Arteta's team must handle the departures smoothly and find a breakthrough in the pursuit of Eze.
