Gyokeres insists Arsenal stay 'was a given' despite summer transfer speculation

Viktor Gyokeres has publicly dismissed speculation that he came close to leaving Arsenal during the summer transfer window, insisting that remaining at the club was never in doubt despite the Gunners’ prolonged pursuit of Atlético Madrid striker Julián Álvarez.

“Of course, there was a lot of speculation,” Gyokeres said. “But I had a full pre-season, and it felt good. I was fully focused on Arsenal. For me, staying was a given. I’m extremely happy at the club.”

The 26-year-old had been linked with a potential departure as a makeweight in any deal for Álvarez, with Mikel Arteta having acknowledged after May’s Champions League final defeat — a game in which Gyokeres came off the bench to little effect — that Arsenal needed greater attacking quality. Álvarez ultimately chose to stay at Atlético after a preferred move to Barcelona fell through, leaving Gyokeres to begin the new season as the club’s second-choice striker behind Kai Havertz.

Gyokeres has seen limited action so far, accumulating just 29 minutes of Premier League football. He did start the 1-0 Champions League win over Napoli and played the full 90 minutes of a 4-2 Carabao Cup victory over Ipswich Town. Despite the lack of consistent minutes, the Swede struck twice during the international break and struck a measured tone about his situation.

“It’s clear that I want to play football and as much as possible,” he said. “You always want to be on the field as a football player. Of course you expect more playing time, but we have an extremely good squad with a lot of good players and have been doing well here at the start.”

Arteta will be eager to have his squad back together ahead of Leeds United’s Premier League visit on 19 October, with fitness concerns surrounding both Havertz and captain Martin Odegaard, who picked up knocks during the Nations League fixtures. Arsenal head into that match having suffered their first league defeat of the season — a 3-0 loss at Brighton — after an otherwise impressive run of seven consecutive wins across four competitions.

Separately, Arsenal are also set to receive a share of a £27 million UEFA compensation package, though the full details of that distribution were not disclosed.