Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres pursuit shows club isn't messing about with striker search

Arsenal is now all in on Viktor Gyokeres, and how the club got there shows they aren't messing around.
SL Benfica v Sporting CP - Portuguese Cup 2024/2025 - Final
SL Benfica v Sporting CP - Portuguese Cup 2024/2025 - Final | Carlos Rodrigues/GettyImages

Arsenal is now all in on Viktor Gyokeres, and how the club got there shows they aren't messing around.

For the best part of a month, we all thought Arsenal had eyes for RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko.

The towering striker had everything Mikel Arteta wanted in a striker...except the actual desire to play for the club.

With talks reportedly going well, it wasn't until a couple of speed bumps appeared with Sesko that things took a turn.

The want for a release clause in his contract, which to us, suggested that Sesko wanted the chance to go to a "bigger club" in the near future. He didn't deem the Gunners one of the top teams in football.

So yeah, there's that.

The other is his reportedly huge salary demands to join the Gunners, which while we don't know the actual numbers, were enough for the club to reportedly get "frustrated" and now, have said thanks but no thanks to Sesko.

Gunners brutal style in Sesko talks shows club's strong stance

It didn't take the Gunners long to push Sesko to the side with the evidence clear that he didn't value joining the club enough in the same manner in which Viktor Gyokeres does.

Seen as a dream move for the Sporting striker, Arsenal's willingness to reportedly end talks with a player who isn't fully convinced to pursue a player who is doing all they can to get to north London shows the club isn't fond of being messed about.

So in short, Sesko, due to a couple of silly things, has now seen his move to Arsenal fall through.

It brings us back to this Arteta quote in May about the club having to convince players to join.

"It doesn't need much convincing and if they do, for me it's not a good starting point," Arteta said. "If I have to convince a player to stay or to join us. To Arsenal? It holds me back a little bit."

So the Gunners felt they had to convince Sesko to join, so they washed their hands of him.

With Gyokeres, there's no such convincing. He wants Arsenal and now Arsenal is all-in on the striker.

And that mentality should be lauded. The club isn't about to beg and grovel a player to come.

Sesko is a prime example of despite his clear talent, the Gunners aren't in the business of convincing players to come.

They called his bluff, and now the Gunners' attention is on Viktor, not Benjamin.

And we are just fine with that.

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