Mikel Arteta rules out exit for Arsenal star in four-word response to question

Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Viktor Gyokeres will not be leaving Arsenal this summer amid rumours of an exit.

Gyokeres, who signed for the Gunners last summer for £63.7million, had been linked to a potential swap deal for Julian Alvarez.

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talkSPORT reported in July that the Premier League champions explored the possibility of offering their striker as a makeweight.

But nothing has developed in those talks as the transfer window rumbles on – and Arteta has now shut things down.

The Arsenal manager was asked a question on Gyokeres’ future at the Emirates after his side’s 4-1 win over Girona on Saturday.

And he definitively replied: “He’s going to stay.”

Arteta was also asked whether he is still looking at Alvarez, replying: “I’m not going to talk about a footballer who isn’t ours.”

So, Gyokeres is now confirmed to remain at Arsenal for the foreseeable future as he looks to build on his first season at the club.

The 28-year-old scored 14 Premier League goals in his maiden campaign, netting another five in the Champions League.

In total, he had a tally of 21 goals in 55 games for the Gunners, putting up some impressive numbers in all competitions.

However, there have still been some doubts raised over Gyokeres’ overall performances and whether Arsenal could improve.

But that hasn’t had an impact on Arteta, who is going to stick with his striker heading into the 2026/27 season.

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Gyokeres stays, but who comes in?

As well as confirming that Gyokeres will stay at Arsenal this summer, Arteta also revealed he’s looking at more new signings.

The Gunners have already signed Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, with the winger scoring on his debut against Girona.

Piero Hincapie has also signed on a permanent deal, with goalkeeper Illan Meslier joining on a free from Leeds.

But there could be plenty more business being done by the reigning champions, with two Brazilian stars linked.

Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes continues to get closer to a move to the Emirates Stadium, while a transfer saga involving a potential approach for Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior continues.

Arteta hasn’t commented on those deals specifically, but he has said: “Well, we are really active, trying to improve and evolve the team. That’s clear.

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“We expect to have movements in the next few weeks, obviously, because we want to get better like anybody else. And you can just see the transfer market and our opponents.

“What we are doing, we won’t sit still and we are very ambitious in what we want to do.”

As for outgoings, Gyokeres won’t be leaving, but Leandro Trossard has already departed the club this summer.

Trossard signed for Besiktas for £17million in mid-July.

The transfer window will close at 11pm on September 1.