Arsenal fans have been clamoring for Viktor Gyökeres to arrive at the club all summer. Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

SINGAPORE -- During half-time of Arsenal's 1-0 preseason friendly win over AC Milan on Wednesday, the Singapore National Stadium operated a "Hug Cam" picking out members of the crowd and urging them to embrace.

A theme quickly emerged; rather than follow that instruction, many Arsenal fans selecting to appear on the big screens began locking their hands together in front of their mouths to replicate the trademark goal celebration of Viktor Gyökeres. For all the star power of Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and the rest of Arsenal's stars, the Sporting CP striker's name is still looming over the club's preseason tour to Asia and he isn't even a Gunner yet.

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In the midst of an Arsenal fan event at an Irish bar in the city a day earlier, cheers broke out among supporters in attendance as social media reports suggested a deal to sign the Sweden international had finally been reached. That proved to be premature, but sources told ESPN that significant progress has been made in negotiations with Sporting during the time the Gunners have been on tour and there is now a growing expectation an official deal will soon be confirmed.

Sources say the transfer will be worth approximately an initial €63.5 million with a further €10m in add-ons. There was initially hope that Gyökeres would be through the door before the team left London last Saturday. The saga now appears to finally be close to a positive conclusion, but why did it take so long?

Identifying their target

Arsenal have needed a striker for some time. The club made a judgement call last summer not to pursue another target after Benjamin Sesko opted to sign a contract and remain at RB Leipzig. That decision was revisited in January when Arsenal looked short in attack, particularly following a season-ending injury to Gabriel Jesus.

Arsenal's first six games

The Gunners explored the possibility of moving for Sesko in January but were told he would not leave midseason; Gyökeres, who was also on their shortlist, would also not move before the summer. In the end, Aston Villa approached Arsenal with a proposal to sign Ollie Watkins for £60m. The Gunners offered £40m but after that was rejected, they did not return with another bid.

Sporting director Edu left the club abruptly in November and was eventually replaced by Andrea Berta, formerly of Atlético Madrid, in late March. It is, of course, commonplace for a club to undertake background checks on a number of possible targets and sources say Berta has a habit of negotiating multiple deals at the same time before executing the most favorable.

Gyökeres began to emerge as a serious candidate around this time. There were suggestions that Sesko had a gentleman's agreement to leave Leipzig for a set fee, but Leipzig in fact dismissed this idea and held a significantly higher valuation. In addition, Sesko's potential is significant but Gyökeres' goal return in Portugal has been relentless and kept promoting his case: he is set to depart Lisbon having scored 97 goals in 102 games and won two league titles.

Why has it taken so long to reach an agreement?

Gyökeres had a €100m release clause in his contract, which gave Sporting a strong position from which to negotiate. They also have a reputation as a club for proving to be fierce negotiators -- Manchester United found this out when talks became protracted over head coach Ruben Amorim moving to Old Trafford last year.

Sporting president Frederico Varandas was adamant that any fee for Gyökeres should match his status as one of Europe's most in-demand forwards. Arsenal believed that valuation -- thought to be €80m -- was too high but negotiations dragged because of intransigence on both sides.

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Other parties involved have tried to bridge the gap. Gyökeres' agents agreed to waive their cut of the initial fee -- saving Sporting €6.35m. The striker himself resisted interest from elsewhere, including United, and told Sporting he would not report back for preseason training out of desire to leave the club.

Once Sporting accepted the broad framework of an agreement comprising a €63.5m payment plus a further €10m in add-ons, the nature of those add-ons became the subject of lengthy conversation. Effectively, this was the reason Gyökeres did not depart with the Arsenal squad for their tour to Asia.

Sources have told ESPN a range of options were explored, including a clause triggering a payment if Gyökeres won the Premier League Golden Boot, another if he won the Ballon d'Or, and a third if Arsenal win the Premier League title. On several occasions, Arsenal thought they were close to an agreement only for the parameters to change. Sporting often claimed they wanted more attainable triggers for the add-ons.

What happens next?

After Arsenal beat Milan in Singapore, midfielder Declan Rice gave a sense that even the squad were lacking clarity on Gyökeres' situation.

"Obviously, look, there's been a lot of talk this week about that," he said. "We can only focus on the players that are here. We don't know actually what's going on. If I knew, I would say, but I'm focusing on the players that we have here. See if he comes, it would be really good. At the minute, we have a really strong team. Let's see what happens."

The wait is nearly over.

Sources have told ESPN there remains optimism Gyökeres will be able to fly out to Asia to play some part on tour, even if it just to begin acclimatizing to his new teammates. There is also the knock-on effect it will have to the existing squad, most obviously Kai Havertz who looks to have added considerable muscle to his physique in recent months as he tries to prove a more formidable option to lead Arsenal's attack.

But, inevitably, the focus will be on Gyökeres if he is able to join up ahead of either Sunday's game against Newcastle United in Singapore or next Thursday's clash with Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong. After all, the fans here have been practicing their welcome for some time already.