Better than Gyokeres: Arsenal could see £85m bid accepted for “the next Mbappe”

The Champagne is popping, Declan Rice is dancing, and Arsenal are champions again, now looking forward to a first Premier League trophy lift in 22 years on Sunday.

It’s been a title years in the making, it must be said, the result of careful planning and wise recruitment, Mikel Arteta overseeing gradual progression to finally get over the line this time around.

As ex-Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag said of the club’s rivals in 2022, “eras come to an end”, with the Gunners now having the chance to capitalise on the instability elsewhere in the top-flight.

Jürgen Klopp has already flown the nest at Liverpool; Pep Guardiola is set to follow suit at Manchester City. There’s chaos and turbulence at both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, while United look to be making a gamble of their own with the appointment of Michael Carrick.

Sitting atop their perch, now is the time for Arsenal to put the pedal down and seize the advantage for the long-term.

Arsenal could see £85m bid accepted for Premier League sensation

After a summer dominated by striker talk last summer, the north London side could again be in the market for a marquee forward this time around, following the muted performances of Arteta’s forward line this season.

Reports earlier this week revealed that Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the dream target for the Spaniard, although Arsenal’s upcoming Champions League opponents are unlikely to contemplate a sale.

There is also parallel interest in Atletico Madrid marksman, Julian Alvarez, although again, Diego Simeone’s side won’t be willing sellers, with any deal also likely to be impacted by the Argentine’s participation at this summer’s World Cup.

Looking a little closer to home then in the Premier League, TEAMtalk have provided the latest on Arsenal’s interest in Bournemouth starlet, Eli Junior Kroupi, with the teen sensation attracting notable interest following a breakout season at the Vitality Stadium.

The Gunners, alongside the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, are currently keeping tabs on the 19-year-old, with Arteta said to be keen on signing a new forward to compete with Viktor Gyokeres next season.

The suggestion is that a ‘substantial bid’ would be needed to secure his signature, with valuations ranging from £65m to as much as £85m, a significant rise on the £12m deal that brought him to England just a year ago.

Why Kroupi would be an upgrade on Gyokeres

To say Gyokeres has been the missing piece of the puzzle for the champions would be overselling it, with much of this season’s success stemming from the brilliance of the defensive unit.

The Gunners have actually only scored 69 league goals so far, as many as they scored last season and 17 fewer than Liverpool racked up amid their title win a year ago.

That suggests there is still room for improvement, with Gyokeres – who has at least scored 14 league goals – not raising the level too greatly following his £64m switch from Sporting CP.

The 27-year-old has his merits, undoubtedly, but young Kroupi looks like a genuine superstar in the making, hailed as “the next Mbappe” by GOAL. Indeed, he’s taken to life in the Premier League like a duck to water.

Having arrived from Ligue 2 Lorient over the summer, after hitting 22 league goals in 2024/25, the teenager has picked up where he left off in France, proving such a surprise star under Andoni Iraola’s watch.

Now up to 13 goals in England’s top tier, Kroupi has set the record for the most goals scored by a teenager in their debut Premier League campaign, eclipsing the likes of Robbie Keane and Robbie Fowler, both of whom hit 12.

That is esteemed company to be in, with the Frenchman’s 13 goals coming despite making only 20 starts, scoring at a rate of one every 124 minutes. Gyokeres, for context, has scored once every 160 minutes for the Gunners.

Already “one of the best finishers in the Premier League“, in the view of pundit Daniel Sturridge, Kroupi boasts a 28% goal conversion rate and has missed only three ‘big chances’, a remarkable record considering his age.

For comparison again, Gyokeres, eight years his senior, has missed 15 ‘big chances’ and has a goal conversion rate of 26%.

What also sets Kroupi apart is the manner in which he has scored this season too. Gyokeres, who has converted three penalties, has largely been a pure poacher, as seen in his close-range effort against Everton.

The young Frenchman is anything but, by contrast, memorably rifling home at the Emirates earlier this year, while also netting the goal that proved decisive in the title race in midweek, curling in from range past a helpless Gigi Donnarumma.

Comfortable through the middle or off the left, Kroupi could be the missing piece that Arsenal have actually been waiting for, thus resigning Gyokeres to second-string status next season.