Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is personally driving the Gunners’ pursuit of an “underrated” player, amid a growing behind-scenes belief that he’s growing tempted to make a move to north London.
Arsenal suffer PSG loss in Champions League semi-final first leg
It is only half-time for Mikel Arteta and his squad, but they now carry a one-goal deficit heading into their Champions League semi-final second leg against PSG at the Parc des Princes.
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The Gunners are planning to reach out.
Ousmane Dembélé’s acute finish inside four minutes was enough for Luis Enrique’s men to come away from England with a 1-0 victory, and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma showcased his usual heroics to ultimately protect PSG’s slender advantage.
|
Arsenal’s final Premier League games |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Bournemouth (home) |
May 3rd |
|
Liverpool (away) |
May 11th |
|
Newcastle United (home) |
May 18th |
|
Southampton (away) |
May 25th |
Mikel Merino had an equalising header ruled out by VAR for offside, with Donnarumma making excellent saves to thwart both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard at tight angles.
PSG did have golden chances of their own to make it a much worse night for Arsenal on away turf, but the aggregate scoreline remains on a knife edge.
“Not a lot,” said Arteta on what went wrong for Arsenal in the early stages of their PSG clash.
“I’m telling you it’s just something that is very specific but very important, especially the way we played. We corrected it and it’s not easy to correct it constantly but we did it and we did it much better. And in the end, we have two of our front players one v one with Donnarumma, if they scored the goal, it’s different.
“He made the saves like he did against Liverpool and Villa and that’s the difference in the Champions League, the margins are so small. We had a disallowed goal as well and another two big situations that happened in the game that didn’t go unfortunately our way.”
There is no doubt that Arsenal’s second leg against PSG is Arteta’s most important game of the season, and certainly their most crucial in Europe for a long time.
It is a 90 minutes which will make or break the Gunners’ campaign, but off the field, Berta is already putting serious focus into 2025/2026. Berta is laying the groundwork for key transfer targets ahead of the summer window, according to reports, and one of them is Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Berta driving Arsenal move for Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres
The Swede’s extraordinary haul of 52 goals in all competitions this term has definitely not gone unnoticed in N5, with Arsenal believed to be seriously targeting Gyokeres.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have been informed that Sporting want a total package of around £60 million to sell the former Coventry City sensation, which could be seen by many as amazing value considering he’s scoring goals for fun in Portugal.
According to GiveMeSport, Berta is personally driving Arsenal’s move for Gyokeres, and there is a growing belief that the 26-year-old is becoming increasingly tempted by a potential move to London Colney.
As a result, they’re planning to hold talks with Gyokeres’ camp, and Arsenal are also planning the contractual package they will present to him during these discussions.
The star attacker has been called “underrated” by some, and it is perhaps a surprise that he’s had to wait this long for a blockbuster move, given Gyokeres’ heroics in the Primeira Liga since the beginning of 2023/2024.
