Ally McCoist has named three strikers Arsenal should sign ahead of Viktor Gyokeres after the Sporting Lisbon star became a top transfer goal for the Gunners.
It was recently reported that Arsenal had stepped up their interest in Gyokeres who has long been admired by the club’s latest sporting director Andrea Berta.
The Swede has recorded a staggering 85 goals and 26 assists in 92 games over the past two seasons and has also been linked with Manchester United and a reunion with ex-Sporting boss Ruben Amorim.
Alexander Isak has long been Mikel Arteta’s No.1 goal but a transfer for the Newcastle striker is proving to be far too expensive, while Gyokeres may very well be available for a more realistic £63million this summer.
Nonetheless, speaking on talkSPORT, McCoist was ‘not convinced’ by the 26-year-old who made no impact during his previous spell within the Premier League with Brighton and named some alternative options for Arsenal.
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The Scotland legend said: ‘I probably haven’t seen enough of him to be brutally honest. I’ve seen him a superb few times and I watch highlights. I do know he got a few penalties on the weekend in a 3-0 victory.
‘The times I even have seen him he has been good, I’ve enjoyed his performances and his stats are superb. 15 in 26 for Sweden, 30 this season for Sporting Lisbon and he was excellent against Manchester City [in the Champions League] which might suggest that playing against top clubs over here wouldn’t be an excessive amount of of an issue.
‘But there are probably one or two I’d take before him. Isak but you’re not going to get him.
‘[Victor] Osimhen’s one other one. He hasn’t reached the shape he had perhaps 18 months ago when he was absolutely flying but I just think in the event you can get him hungry…
‘That’s to not say he [Gyokeres] couldn’t come back here and prove me mistaken. He’s absolutely miles higher than what Arsenal have gotten.’
Osimhen has scored 26 goals in 30 games at Galatasaray and is predicted to depart parent club Napoli this summer having been long linked with Chelsea and Man Utd.
Put to him that Arsenal should sign a striker with Premier League experience like Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta, McCoist added: ‘He’s been good, particularly since [Oliver] Glasner’s taken over that club he scored 25 in 40.
‘He’s a special proposition even to any individual like [Erling] Haaland who perhaps doesn’t lead the road in addition to an Isak or a Mateta. Possibly Mateta’s not going to get as many goals as Haaland but we don’t know because he’s not playing in a team that’s creating as many probabilities as City.
‘Is he value a raffle perhaps greater than Gyokeres? Yeah, because doing it within the Premier League [already] is ticking a large box right away.’
Mateta, who recently returned to motion after receiving 25 stitches to his left ear following a horror challenge within the FA Cup, is valued at around £50m but Palace don’t want to sell him.
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