Matthew

With all the criticism I have over this signing. I don't want people to think I hate the player. I have nothing against Gyokeres, I want him to do well and prove me wrong. Even if he wasn't to work out, my blame is going straight to Berta, the club, and Arteta not him.

It’s definitely feels more like a risk, rather than the very calculated recruitment we’ve been known for recently.

Even Ornstein said Arteta wants a CF before preseason (we haven't done that btw). It's mostly failing to get Sesko who was the number #1 choice and Gyokeres being the most readily available as he's desperate to join. Rather than us actually wanting him like that.

Eze appeals more to Arsenal fans because he used to play for us when he was young and his aesthetic and playstyle is Wenger-coded. I would take him because he’s a great player. But if it’s between him or Rafael Leao, it should be a no-brainer to pick Leao imo.

That Athletic article confirmed what we knew. Arteta didn’t want Gyokeres like that and was certainly not first choice, this was mostly Berta’s preference because Leipzig didn’t want to lower their price for Sesko. And he had an obvious bias for him before, tough read.