Viktor Gyokeres looks set to be denied the ideal welcome present when his move to Arsenal is officially confirmed. Talks at club level have been ongoing for a number of weeks but a full agreement is yet to be struck. Personal terms are not expected to be a problem, with Gyokeres having reportedly agreed a salary of around £200,000 per week.

Mikel Arteta often stresses his desire for Arsenal to be “unpredictable” in how they set up - and the signings of Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres will certainly help that. Gyokeres, who scored a remarkable 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting last season, offers an alternative option up front to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.

Arsenal believe they should have signed Viktor Gyokeres by now after agreeing a deal with Sporting for their top striker target, yet the slow progress to completion has led to fears from some that the transfer may collapse at the last hurdle.