Viktor Gyokeres to be denied Arsenal welcome present as announcement timeline emerges

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.

Arsenal are in desperate need of more firepower up top and will hope to complete a deal as quickly as possible. Earlier this week, it was reported that a transfer fee of £55million plus around £8.6m in bonus payments was on the cards. Sporting, however, were said to have been stalling over the structure of the add-ons.

It has since been claimed by TBR Football that a full agreement is expected to be reached by the end of this week. If everything goes to plan, the north Londoners will be in a position to announce the signing of Gyokeres from that point.

If the deal goes ahead, it seems the forward will be denied a welcome present in the form of his preferred shirt number. Gyokeres currently wears the iconic No 9 but it is already occupied by Gabriel Jesus.

A back-up option for Gyokeres could be the No 17, which he wore at Coventry City before joining Sporting two years ago. However, he would have to wrestle it away from Oleksandr Zinchenko, who currently wears it.

As a result, the forward will need to choose a different number unless one or both of Jesus and Zinchenko leave Arsenal this summer.

It means Gyokeres will probably need to adopt a shirt number he has never worn before. Perhaps the best option would be No 10, which has been available at Arsenal since Emile Smith Rowe joined Fulham last summer.

He could also wear the iconic No 14 which once adorned the back of Thierry Henry's shirt. Eddie Nketiah was the last player to wear it but was unable to do it justice before moving to Crystal Palace a year ago.

Some other options for Gyokeres would be No 18, No 20, No 26 and No 27, which are currently up for grabs. It remains to be seen which number he will pick, with the main priority being for Arsenal to get a deal over the line.

Gyokeres recently admitted that he would love to play in the Premier League but stopped short of naming the Gunners as his preferred destination, even though it is pretty much a given.

Speaking to L'Equipe, he said: "It's one of the biggest leagues in Europe. I spent several years there without being able to play a single match. So, of course, it's something I'd like to do. It would be great revenge."

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