Arsenal got back on track in the best way possible on Wednesday night: dismantling Club Brugge 3-0.
Sure, there were moments in which the Belgian side looked dangerous, but in the end, it was a commanding performance from Mikel Arteta's side, and one that saw them maintain their 100% record in the Champions League.
Moreover, there were some brilliant performances from players who needed to step up, such as Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli.
Madueke-Martinelli-Arsenal
However, one starter who didn't and is now in real danger of slipping further down the pecking order at Arsenal is Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres' season so far
There was quite a bit of excitement among the fan base when Arsenal finally signed Gyokeres in the summer, in part because of the saga surrounding the move, but mostly because of his unreal record in Portugal.
Gyokeres 2024-25 season in numbers (timeless) (1)
After all, in just two seasons, the Swedish "powerhouse," as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, racked up a tally of 97 goals and 28 assists in 102 appearances, totalling 8417 minutes.
That comes out to a simply staggering average of 1.22 goal involvements every game, or one every 67.33 minutes, so to say that there was a level of expectation coming into this season would be fair.
Unfortunately, so far anyway, the Stockholm-born international has not really lived up to it.
Now, he's certainly not been terrible, unlike some other Swedish strikers who moved this year, but his return of six goals in 18 appearances is some way off the numbers fans were hoping he'd put up.
V. Gyokeres
Moreover, while some of the blame has to fall on his teammates for not creating enough clear-cut chances, the 27-year-old still has to get into dangerous positions more often and hold up the ball better.
The game on Wednesday night was one of his worst performances in this regard, as he offered practically nothing on or off the ball, taking just 12 touches and completing only five passes.
Gyokeres vs Brugge
With all that said, there is still time for the previously prolific striker to come good. Still, he's going to have to start improving quickly, as there is now another player in the squad who could leapfrog him in the pecking order, someone who has been compared to Thierry Henry in the past.
Arsenal star is bad news for Gyokeres' Emirates career
The unfortunate situation for Gyokeres is that, injuries permitting, he has some serious rivals for that starting striker spot.
There is, of course, Kai Havertz, who chalked up 15 goals before his season was ended by injury last year and then the man who has been scoring in for fun in 2025, Mikel Merino.
However, Wednesday night heralded the return of a third rival, someone plenty of fans had essentially written off in the summer: £45m man Gabriel Jesus.
Gabriel-Jesus-Arsenal
The Brazilian made his return to first-team action 322 days after suffering an ACL injury, and while he didn't score against Club Brugge, he looked lively.
In fact, in his 30-odd minutes of action, the former Manchester City ace looked far more threatening than Gyokeres did, taking two shots on target and another that hit the woodwork.
Moreover, he took eight more touches than the Swede, played a key pass, completed 14 passes and helped to link up the play in a way that made the team look far more fluid.
Now, he did play against a tired defence, and it's probably too early to say he should be in from the start in the next game, but the 28-year-old is now a serious contender for that role, as when he's fit, he's a threat.
Jesus' Arsenal Record
Appearances
Starts
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Goal Involvements per Match
Minutes per Goal Involvements
Points per Game
All Stats via Transfermarkt
For example, in his 97 appearances for the North Londoners, he has scored 26 goals and provided 20 assists, which comes out to a pretty impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.10 games.
Furthermore, even though he doesn't have the physicality of the former Sporting star, he is far more graceful on the ball and, in the words of Ray Parlour, "drifts out to the left quite often, a little like Thierry Henry used to."
Ultimately, there is still a lot of the season to go, but based on what fans have seen so far, there is a real possibility that, so long as he stays fit, Jesus could surpass Gyokeres in the pecking order and even end his Arsenal career.
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