The timing is the story. Arsenal open the 2026-27 Premier League season at home to Coventry City on Friday, 21 August at 8pm local time, and their Swedish centre-forward is suddenly being linked with a switch to the Spanish champions.
The rumour originates with El Chiringuito TV journalist José Álvarez and has been picked up across the transfer press. He claims Barcelona are “expected” to make an approach for Gyökeres “in the coming hours,” according to ArsenalNews.co.uk’s write-up of his report.
No formal bid has been submitted. Barcelona are still assessing whether Arsenal would sell at all, and there is no public indication from either club that a deal is on the table.
Torres’ departure left a No. 9-sized hole
The move for Gyökeres, if it materialises, is a direct consequence of PSG’s swoop for Ferran Torres. The Spain international signed a five-year deal in Paris after Barcelona accepted a fee of around €50 million, and he has taken the No. 9 shirt at his new club.
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Torres was Barcelona’s top scorer last season, and Hansi Flick’s side have not replaced him. That gap is the reason Gyökeres’ name is in play at all.
Arsenal say they are not selling
The reason to treat the rumour with caution comes from within the same transfer-market ecosystem. FootballTransfers reports that Arsenal are not considering selling Gyökeres, and adds that “there has been no evidence to suggest that Arsenal’s position on the 28-year-old has shifted, particularly just a week out from the start of the Premier League season.”
Gyökeres arrived from Sporting CP in the summer of 2025 in a package worth roughly £64 million and signed a long contract at the Emirates.
Gyökeres’ first Arsenal season in numbers
His debut season in London delivered 21 goals across all competitions, with 14 of those coming in the Premier League.
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He is the only recognised centre-forward of his profile in Arteta’s squad. Losing him three days before matchday one, without a signed replacement, would force a reshuffle Arsenal have shown no appetite for.
Next up for Arsenal: Coventry City at the Emirates on Friday night, with or without the summer’s latest transfer question hanging over the squad.
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