Viktor Gyokeres is the latest Arsenal big-money striker signing. And the player joins an ever growing list of recent signings who have arrived at the club seeking to finally be the man to score the goals to send the Gunners to Premier League glory. The Swedish international has moved from Sporting Lisbon with a huge reputation for finding the back of the net, and Arsenal supporters will hope he is the final piece in the jigsaw for Mikel Arteta's men, who have come so close, yet so far, to securing high-level success in recent years.

Gyokeres' goal scoring record is impressive. 54 goals in just 52 games across Sporting’s 2024/25 campaign is a return that any striker would be proud of, and more than justifies the reported £52m fee that the Gunners will pay the Portuguese side for the striker's services. And could this finally be the signing that propels the Gunners to a first English top flight title in more than 20 years? Certainly the pundits think this is a possibility,  as do the mobile casinos and sports betting sites who quickly dropped Arsenal's title odds upon news of the new striker signing.

So, while Gyokeres looks to become a prolific Arsenal hitman in the vein of Thierry Henry rather than a flop in the form of Francis Jeffers, we look back at some of the club's attempts to recruit big money goalscorers in recent years. And suffice to say, it's been a little bit of a mixed bag. Here we run through them based on cost, with Gyokeres slotting in at fourth in this list of five eye-wateringly expensive buys.

Kai Havertz - 23/24 - £65m

Signed from London rivals Chelsea, Havertz is a current Arsenal player but it's fair to say the jury is still out on the German attacker's degree of success at Emirates Stadium, despite finishing the 2024/25 season as the club's top scorer. Possessing a modest goalscoring return (15 was enough to claim the top scorer prize last term), it's also more than fair to classify Havertz as a deep-lying attacker rather than a classic centre forward, and he can link the play beautifully. But in terms of sheer numbers of goals, Havertz has not been the solution to Arteta's problems. However, a promising link-up with the new signing could be on the cards. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 17/18 - £56m

Probably the last true striker that the Gunners possessed, Aubameyang set the world on fire when he first arrived at the Emirates for a then-club record fee, and was the last striker to have a prolific campaign when hitting 29 in 2019/20 after finishing with the Premier League Golden Boot the season before on his way to scoring 31 across all competitions. Yet after that it all went horribly wrong for the Gabon International, with the club eventually having to take a hefty loss on the player just to get his astronomical wages off the accounts.

Alexander Lacazette - 17/18 - £52.6m

A player who formed a deadly partnership with the previous entry on this list, but despite his workrate and popularity, a striker who perhaps never really hit the heights that were hoped for after his big money move from France. Lacazette was, and remains, a very good striker, but the feeling is that he was just below the top drawer that the Gunners required. 

Gabriel Jesus - 2022/23 £45m

Another current Arsenal player and another, like Havertz, who offers plenty to the team without contributing the weight of goals that an Arsenal striker is expected to deliver. And again like Havertz Jesus is probably more of a 10 than a 9, however, and has hit rich veins of form in front of goal before suffering injuries that have felt inevitable at times and have certainly curtailed his Arsenal career to date somewhat. Another who could potentially link up well with the new recruit as the future looks bright for the Gunners.