Alexander Isak transfer bid leaves Arsenal £150m question for Mikel Arteta

Arsenal have committed topaying over £65million for Viktor Gyokeres as their statement signing of the summer. That could end up being less than half of what Alexander Isak moves for.

These finances are just part of the reason that Andrea Berta pivoted away from the Newcastle United forward. Instead, he chose the lesser expensive No.9 on the market.

Benjamin Sesko was the other real contender as Arsenal switched from Isak in the belief that he was simply not going to be available for a justifiable (or affordable) fee. Ollie Watkins, who has been looked at over an extended period, was deemed as being too much as he approaches his 30s. The Aston Villa man was in the frame more during January and Jason Ayto's interim sporting directorship.

For Isak, what seemed to be a summer of noise without substance around his future has become a late drama.With just under one month left of the window to go, his future is up in the air.

Newcastle and Eddie Howe haven't had him away on tour in pre-season.The official reason is due to an injury but Isak is now training at his former club Real Sociedad's training ground on his own and pushing to leave with Liverpool entering centre stage.

They have already spent big on Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike - a stylistic match to Isak - but are not done yet. They have made a British transfer record-shattering bid for Isak. It has been rejected.

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Their £120million offer already borders on being close to double what Arsenal could end up paying for Gyokeres in total.If a deal is to be done then it will have to rise to almost £150million.

That is the sort of number that Arsenal had been quoted previously. Isak has three years left on his contract. He is elite. And he is in demand.

Making sense of something this large is not easy. Arsenal didn't view it as being feasible. Although he might have been the best fit for Arteta's dream striker, that cannot be separated from the fact that he would blow a huge portion of the budget.

During a window in which Arsenal had to address more than just the striker spot, it is not something they felt able to sanction. Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi cost over £100million between them (which is partially why there was frustration at the Madueke price when a striker was seen as priority).

Christian Norgaard, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Cristhian Mosquera eat in significantly less but every transfer counts. Eberechi Eze is the main remaining target and could still become the most expensive. Taking the price from £63million (including add-ons) to £150million for Isak, on top of this, is simply not possible.

If Arsenal felt that Isak was going to push for an exit and force Newcastle's hand earlier then maybe something could be done. As it happens, Isak has left it late. Liverpool are the only team in the running and it is a case of pay up or hang up.

At this point, with Gyokeres and Kai Havertz locked in, there is surely no chance of even entertaining a stunning hijack.The question is whether, with Isak actually set to leave, Arsenal have missed out.

They had been long, long interested in the Swedish forward. In the end, they have put the same number towards Gyokeres, Isak's international counterpart, as Newcastle did in 2022 to get their star man from Real Sociedad in the first place. The difference is that Gyokeres is considerably older but comes with a goalscoring record that simply cannot be ignored.

Isak has 44 in the Premier League in the past two seasons (nine from penalties, plus eight assists) compared to Gyokeres' 68 (17 penalties, 17 assists). What is a goal in Portugal worth in England? There have been attempts to translate just that, which feeds into the price differential as well.

Then there is age, resale value, and tactical fit. Isak, as the younger, Premier League-proven, all-round player, has more strings to his bow than Gyokeres. That is reflected in the price.

Arsenal will be more than happy with the trade-off made get Gyokeres over the line quicker than any move for Isak. It would only be natural for a tinge of disappointment that a prime target has gotten away and could be heading to a rival. The balance sheet may well disagree.