Arsenal handed £71.2m transfer ultimatum over Viktor Gyokeres deal amid competitive alternate

Arsenal are keen to reinforce their striker options this summer and have sadly already missed out on one potential target in Benjamin Sesko. The Slovenian forward signed a new deal with RB Leipzig but other candidates remain.

There has been plenty of noise surrounding Viktor Gyokeres of late, while Sky Germany have reported that Serhou Guirassy is one of the players Arsenal are also keen on. Both forwards were two of the highest-scoring players in Europe for Sporting CP and Stuttgart respectively.

Relatively unheard of prior to last season, Guirassy managed to score a staggering 30 goals in 30 games for the German side who finished second in the Bundesliga, above even Bayern Munich. This was more than double the number of goals Guirassy had ever scored before in a single season in quite an impressive year.

Gyokeres, however, managed arguably an even more impressive feat, scoring 43 goals in 50 games for Sporting CP across four competitions. In addition, where Guirassy added two assists to his tally, the Swedish striker aided his teammates on an extra 15 goals.

The all-around game of Gyokeres is certainly an attractive feature of his game and this is where the difference in price begins to be justified. Both players have release clauses and Sporting CP set a €100million (£86million) buyout when he signed from Coventry City.

Whereas Stuttgart have only a €17.5million (£14.8million) clause in the Guinean’s contract. To some, this might seem a no-brainer considering the goal tallies of both in the league being separated by only four in favour of Gyokeres.

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Going deeper into the analysis, the assessment of who the better player is becomes clear. What those looking at both need to do is determine whether the gap in quality is worth paying the money for.

In regard to creativity, Gyokeres' shot-creating actions per 90, 4.08, to Guirassy's 3.67 are stronger, according to FBRef. But looking at the raw numbers, Gyokeres created 160 compared to the Guinean’s 90.

Looking at work when on the ball, Gyokeres manages 1.96 successful take-ons per 90 compared to Guirassy's 0.65. In terms of carries per 90 (27.2 > 25.6) and progressive distance per 90 (84.4y > 38.8y) and carries into the penalty area per 90 (2.65 > 0.78), the Sporting star comes out on top again.

Interestingly though, Guirassy does claim back some ground on the Swede when it comes to passing. Pass completion (81% > 71.7%) passes into the final third per 90 (1.55 > 0.92) and passes into the box per 90 (1.02 > 0.55) are all in favour of the Stuttgart forward.

Whether Arsenal move for either player remains to be seen. However, both are certainly showcasing their goalscoring talent this season just gone and the Gunners would need to determine not only who is value for money but who has the better chance to fit into the side and translate their talent.