Man Utd aghast as €73m ‘monster’ striker scores AGAIN after snubbing Ruben Amorim

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell must be wondering what might have been as Viktor Gyokeres continues to star for Arsenal, with Gunners manager Mikel Arteta raving about the striker after he scored against Nottingham Forest.

Both Man Utd and Arsenal were on the hunt for a new striker in the summer transfer window. Neither Joshua Zirkzee nor Rasmus Hojlund impressed for Man Utd last season, while Kai Havertz is not a natural centre-forward and Gabriel Jesus is not prolific enough to lead Arsenal to Premier League title glory.

Gyokeres was a top target for both Man Utd and Arsenal, with the Sweden international establishing himself as one of the best strikers in the world during his time at Sporting CP.

The 27-year-old found the back of the net 97 times and registered 28 assists in 102 appearances for the Portuguese club.

Arsenal paid Sporting a total of €73million (£63m, $86m) (including add-ons) for Gyokeres, who turned down the chance to join Man Utd to complete a move to the Emirates Stadium.

TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, reported in June that Gyokeres told Man Utd that he wanted to join them despite interest from Arsenal.

Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim worked with Gyokeres at Sporting CP, and the Portuguese manager was keen on a reunion at Old Trafford.

However, in the end, Gyokeres snubbed the chance to join Man Utd, with talkSPORT reporting that the chance to play in the Champions League and also compete for the Premier League title with Arsenal swayed his decision.

Man Utd went on to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, with Christopher Vivell playing a key role.

Vivell knew Sesko from his time as technical director at RB Leipzig and convinced Amorim that the Slovenia international is the right fit for Man Utd.

While Sesko has played only 80 minutes in the Premier League and has looked lost in his three substitute appearances in the league, Gyokeres has been banging in the goals for fun for Arsenal.

The 27-year-old striker has scored three goals in four Premier League appearances for Arsenal this season.

Gyokeres’s latest goal for the north London club came in their 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.

The former Coventry City striker found the back of the net just seconds into the second half when he tapped in from close range after being teed up by Eberechi Eze.

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Arteta and White impressed with Arsenal striker Gyokeres

Gyokeres’s strike against Forest was a classic centre-forward’s goal, as he was at the right place at the right time.

It is the kind of goal that Arsenal need if they are to beat the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City to the Premier League title.

The overall performance of the striker was also impressive, as he made some very good and important runs and was a nuisance for the Nottingham Forest centre-backs.

After the match, Arsenal manager Arteta raved about Gyokeres and noted how he did well alongside Eze and Noni Madueke in attack.

Arteta told TNT Sports: “I think they were very good, the three of them, with their own qualities and complementing each other really well.

“Noni, I think, was outstanding again, he looks like a real threat. Victor, very intelligent, he could have scored two or three.

“Again, today Ebz giving you something that’s a different kind of flow and different connections and very unpredictable as well.”

In the build-up to the match, Arsenal defender Ben White spoke highly of Gyokeres.

White said: “He’s a monster. He lives for goals and is always a threat to your goal. You really don’t want to meet him on the pitch because physically you can’t stop him.

“He will help us a lot and he won’t need to adapt because he has already played in England. You’ve seen people come here before and have a hard time.”

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