Viktor Gyokeres scouting report: Gabriel and Saliba nullify Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target

It's fair to say it was a tough evening for Viktor Gyokeres. The 26-year-old will be of interest to the top clubs in Europe ahead of the summer transfer window, with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea among those strongly linked to the striker.

And while Sporting were not exactly starved of possession in their Champions League clash against Arsenal, the Swedish striker saw little of the ball for long stretches of the game. He was forced to battle against William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes on his own for much of the encounter.

In the first half, he had few touches as Arsenal's aggressive press prevented Sporting from playing out from the back effectively. As the Gunners went one goal and then two ahead, the striker began to cut a lonely figure, forced to wait for his side to try and win the ball back as the likes of Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey held court.

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It was not all bad in the first 45 minutes; there was some good hold-up play and linking with teammates in the brief moments he did get the ball. But time and again he was forced to run down the line with no backup, made to take on either Saliba or Gabriel and rarely coming out on top.

On the few occasions he did have a chance to get the ball down and run with it, he didn't make the right decision often enough. There were a couple of opportunities where he could get the ball into the box and he wound up finding an Arsenal shirt.

Unfortunately for Sporting, they went in 3-0 down at the break following a dagger from Gabriel on the stroke of half-time - after which the defender rubbed it in that little bit more by aping Gyokeres' own celebration - covering his eyes rather than his mouth.

After half-time, there was a considerable improvement from the hosts. Rather than struggle playing through the press, they began to go a bit more direct and try to find Gyokeres; while it wasn't perfect, the 26-year-old did bring his teammates into play higher up the pitch, and there was a notable improvement in terms of tempo and willingness to join the attack.

And we began to see more of the striker. While there were bright points, though, ultimately it was an unsuccessful evening. For the good he did, too often he was wasteful.

On two occasions he blazed a shot over in a good position; one from a free-kick right on the edge of the area in a central position, and another from wider to the right, taking a shot on early.

But he did at least show part of why he's so highly-rated. Turning to earn space and fire a deflected shot for a corner, some good link-play throughout, and then his real stand-out moment.

Gyokeres broke away from Saliba before facing up against Jakub Kiwior, fresh off the bench to replace Gabriel. The attacker held off the challenge from the Arsenal man, pushing his way into the area before hitting another vicious effort, this one cannoning back off the post.

In reality, a game like this in which a striker is so starved of service will always be a tough indicator. But Kai Havertz has rightly been lauded for his play since joining the Gunners in helping to create a fluid and functioning attack; Gyokeres has at least shown that his willingness to run the channels and link with his teammates would allow him to be an effective player if he were to join the likes of Arsenal or Chelsea.

But it's whether that high cost of a transfer fee and wages will be worth it; Arsenal will only get one shot at spending a lot of cash on a No.9, and they have to get it right. Chelsea's faith in Nicolas Jackson is currently being repaid.

At least in this game, Gyokeres did not do enough to convince he should be the standout choice for either.