Arsenal signs Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon

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Arsenal signs Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon

2025-07-27 05:14 Last Updated At：05:21

Arsenal signed Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres on Saturday, bringing an end to the Premier League club's years-long search for a prolific goal-scorer.

Gyokeres completed a move from Sporting Lisbon worth a reported 63 million pounds ($85 million) and signed a five-year contract.

“Viktor is an exceptional talent and has consistently demonstrated he has the qualities and winning mentality required of a top-level centre-forward. His physicality, intelligence and work ethic make him a perfect fit for our vision,” said Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta.

The 27-year-old striker joins Arsenal after establishing himself as one of the deadliest finishers in world soccer after two outstanding seasons in Portugal, where he fired Lisbon to back-to-back league titles. He hit 97 goals in 102 games, including 54 last term, outscoring the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.

A top-class striker has long-been considered the missing element for Arsenal, which was runner-up in each of the last three Premier League seasons. The failure to bring one in during the January transfer window badly undermined its attempts to challenge Liverpool for the title last term.

“The consistency he has shown in his performances and availability have been outstanding, and his goal contributions speak for themselves,” said manager Mikel Arteta. “He is a quick and powerful presence up front, with incredible goal-scoring numbers at club and international levels.”

Gyokeres returns to England after joining Brighton as a youth player and later emerging at second-tier Coventry, where his 22 goals helped the team reach the playoff final in 2023.

His record of 40 goals in 97 games for Coventry caught the attention of Lisbon and led to a 20.5 million pounds ($25 million) move to the Portuguese club.

Gyokeres' explosive form over the past two seasons has sparked frequent speculation about a move to one of European soccer's giants, including Manchester United. But Arsenal has won the race for his signature and the transfer represents a remarkable rise for a player who was first developed at Brommapojkarna, a Swedish club with a reputation for guiding the careers of some of the country’s best emerging talents.

“He was a late developer because he was not the best striker or the best player in Brommapojkarna at age 16, 17, 18, 19," Dalibor Savic, his former youth coach at the Swedish club told The Associated Press in November. “If he aims at something, he will achieve it.”

Gyokeres will have to prove he can make the step up to the Premier League after failing to break through at Brighton, a club known for unearthing players like Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister in recent years. He only made eight appearances for the club and was loaned to St Pauli in Germany and Swansea before his permanent move to Coventry.

His performances for Sweden and in the Champions League suggest he will be able to continue that form at Arsenal.

He was the leading scorer in the Nations League with nine goals, outperforming Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo, and hit six in eight appearances in the Champions League for Lisbon last season.

“I started here (in England), it feels like a long time ago. I think I’ve improved a lot since then. Now I want to prove myself for real and perform together with the team," Gyokeres said. “I always want to score. To be a part of this club and to score in this kit and with this badge in front of all the supporters, I can’t wait."

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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Trump threatens to use the Insurrection Act to end protests in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.

“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.

The operation grew when ICE sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area early in January. ICE is a DHS agency.

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.

Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.

Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.

Police chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.

The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.

St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.

Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.

Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.