Arsenal already have Viktor Gyokeres secret weapon who can help after transfer breakthrough

Arsenal's long search for a new striker appears to be drawing to a conclusion. Amid all the talk of whether it would be Viktor Gyokeres or Benjamin Sesko who would be heading to the Emirates Stadium this summer, the Gunners are now closing in on a deal for the former.

Arsenal are advancing in their move to sign to prolific Swede from Sporting CP and now it is about agreeing a deal for his services. The Portuguese club reportedly want an agreement in the region of £61million plus £8.6million in add-ons for their main man.

The 27-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable two seasons in Portugal since moving from Coventry City, registering 97 goals and 28 assists in his 102 games for Sporting. Gyokeres is undoubtedly a goalscorer and the hope will be that he can shoot Mikel Arteta's Arsenal to the titles they desperately crave.

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The Gunners have been active in the summer transfer market after already clinching deals for Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi. Brentford midfielder Christian Norgaard is also expected to join Gyokeres in signing on the dotted line in north London, with Chelsea winger Noni Madueke and Real Madrid star Rodrygo linked as Arsenal look to boost their options in the final third.

Gyokeres signing on ahead of Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia could prove key to the frontman making a fast start in the Premier League come August. Arsenal have games against AC Milan and Newcastle United to come in Singapore, before playing Tottenham in a North London Derby in Hong Kong.

Providing he does of course join Arsenal, the next few weeks and the upcoming Far East tour are going to be critical to Gyokeres settling in very quickly. The tour will give the player a chance to form a bond with his new teammates on and off the pitch and hopefully hit the ground running as a result.

One player who could prove vital in Gyokeres acclimatising to his new club and surroundings is Ben White. The defender was actually a teammate of the Swede at Brighton & Hove Albion prior to the striker's permanent move to Coventry in 2021.

After officially joining Brighton from IF Brommapojkarna on January 1, 2018, Gyokeres began training with the club's Under-23 side rather than immediately linking up with the first team. It was from the 2018/19 season where he came across White as the defender was playing on loan for Newport County at the time of the striker's move to the south coast.

In that season, they played together in three EFL Trophy games and a further five times in Premier League 2. Footage has done the rounds online of White teeing up Gyokeres for a last-minute winner in a 3-2 victory away at Swansea City, a game in which the ex-Leeds United loanee remarkably set up all three Brighton goals.

They would only play in one senior Brighton game together, a 3-0 defeat against Manchester United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup in September 2020. A few days later, Gyokeres would join Swansea City on loan and they would never play for Brighton together again as the following summer White sealed a big-money move to Arsenal after a standout campaign at the Amex Stadium.

However, the opportunity to play in the same team once again looks set to be on the horizon with Gyokeres closing in on a transfer to Arsenal. After their time alongside each other at Brighton, White can be a pivotal figure in the opening weeks of the striker's Arsenal career.