Opinion: Andrea Berta Is Winning the Transfer Poker Game for Arsenal’s New Striker

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·14 July 2025

Opinion: Andrea Berta Is Winning the Transfer Poker Game for Arsenal’s New Striker

If you had announced a signing at the start of June or July, it made little difference as most players were on their holidays.

Most Gooners were willing to stay patient until our tour of Asia begins.

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To give yourself the best possible chance this season, you want to give your squad the majority of pre-season to adapt to changes.

Given that we have been looking for a striker at least since January, it would be disappointing if a new forward is not on the plane to Hong Kong.

This past weekend, Sporting Lisbon’s President was not talking like a man who was expecting Viktor Gyökeres to be on that Arsenal flight.

Frederico Varandas recently described the transfer as becoming “more complicated” and even spoke about how his best talent could still have a career in Portugal by apologising and accepting a hefty fine. The fine is for not returning to training this weekend.

It is increasingly looking like this was the final bluff from the Portuguese champions in a game of poker that has been played for months.

Berta Holding the Strongest Cards

The way Andrea Berta likes to negotiate is to collect as much detail as possible about the numerous names on his shortlist.

That was his policy at Atlético Madrid.

While there can be disadvantages to how long you haggle over every last penny (and the Gunners could do better not to leak so much information), there are equally advantages once you know a target is sold on your project.

The moment Gyökeres made it clear that the Emirates was his only choice, our director held some powerful cards in his hands.

The accusation from the player that his employers were breaking a verbal agreement from last summer was music to the Italian’s ears.

While it meant the 53-year-old was initially getting contrasting information, in the long term it meant the deal could potentially be cheaper than he thought.

Because as long as the Swede was adamant North London was his only destination, Mr Varandas was not going to get the bidding war he naturally hoped for.

The player’s agent maintains he has evidence that his client is telling the truth, that this time last year he was promised that if he gave another 12 months of service, he would not be priced out of a move away.

That is why the player feels vindicated in not returning to work.

Gyokeres (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

Negotiation Reaches Final Stretch

Ironically, for a while it seemed that we were using Gyökeres as a pawn in our pursuit of Benjamin Šeško.

By clearly talking to both strikers at the same time, it unofficially told Sporting and Leipzig that we had alternatives and therefore did not have to pay over the odds in an act of desperation.

It was believed that Šeško started as Mikel Arteta’s first choice, but the 22-year-old may have talked himself out of a move, especially compared to how passionate Gyökeres has been over the possibility.

Football is no different to any business, if you can save a few million by not panicking and being patient, that is what you do.

This is where it becomes about who blinks first.

Mr Berta has been in Lisbon a couple of times in the last two weeks and was actually prepared to pay more than the asking price, but over a longer period and with some additional add-ons.

The Primeira Liga club were arguing for less, but with a larger payment made immediately.

At that point, neither party is going to walk away.

One knows it would be a PR disaster to waste months of energy by failing to get a goal scorer who is literally saying, “come and get me”.

While Sporting know a 27-year-old’s value will only reduce, and there is zero guarantee he repeats the stats of the last two years now he is unhappy.

It is the closest we have come at any point to Gyökeres flying to the Far East with Arsenal on 19th July, for the pre-season tour.

Dan Smith

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