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4 hours ago
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Arsenal are in weird spot this season, though they started the campaign with a lot of promise, they never really managed to challenge Liverpool for the Premier League crown.
The Gunners finished another season without any silverware and may also finish second in the league for the third consecutive season.
However, now they will have to watch their two biggest rivals, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, lock horns in the Europa League final in Bilbao.
The North Londoners will hope that their city rivals Tottenham come out on top as it will deny United a place in the Champions League, and also lower their chances of securing their target this summer.
Both clubs need a prolific striker who can consistently score goals. Therefore, they have identified Viktor Gyokeres as the perfect player for that role.
While Arsenal are monitoring the Swedish international for quite some time, Ruben Amorim, the former Sporting manager, is keen to reunite with him at Old Trafford this summer.
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So if United lose the Europa League final and miss Champions League football for the upcoming season, Arsenal may just snap up their target without facing much competition.
But if the Red Devils emerge victorious, they may have to pay a little more money to lure the 26-year-old to Emirates Stadium.
So it may sound extremely unpleasant for the Arsenal faithful, but Spurs winning the Europa League could work in their favour, especially in the Gyokeres deal.
Why could Gyokeres be available for much cheaper than his release clause?
Gyokeres has already attained the status of a club legend at the Portuguese capital. He has guided Sporting to two consecutive Premeira Liga title in his two seasons at the club.
He has now shifted his focus to the Taca de Portugal title, where Sporting will play Benfica in the final on Sunday, May 25.
Overall, he has raked up 53 goals across all competitions in the current campaign while netting 39 goals in 33 games in the Primeira Liga.
As per reports, the 26-year-old will be available for a lot less than his £84.1 million release clause.
Sporting are all set to allow their mainman leave for a much lower bid as they want to value Gyokeres' respect for his contract.
The Swedish star had multiple opportunities to move to another club last summer and also in the January window after Amorim's move to United. But Gyokeres decided to respect his contract with Sporting and eventually guided them to another league title.
Therefore, Sporting may reportedly allow him to leave for a bid in the region of £54.7 million, which makes it an extremely lucrative deal, looking at his current form.
Therefore, if United somehow manage to win the Europa League, they will have more money and also the status of playing in the Champions League next season, increasing their chances of convincing the 26-year-old forward to choose them over Arsenal.
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