We’re almost halfway through the 2025/26 season. Judgement has been passed on the biggest signings of the summer – but where does public opinion lie for Viktor Gyokeres?
While the Swedish international has outperformed a few of his contemporaries, he has been somewhat underwhelming since he joined Arsenal. The Gunners are sitting atop the Premier League table, but how much has Gyokeres had to do with it?
Today, we’ll be aiming to determine whether Gyokeres has been a flop at Arsenal or not – we’ll also examine whether he can be a long-term success at the Emirates Stadium.
Viktor Gyokeres stats compared with other Premier League strikers in 2025/26
Games Goals Assists
Viktor Gyokeres 18 6 0
Hugo Ekitike 21 7 1
Erling Haaland 21 21 3
Nick Woltemade 20 7 2
Igor Thiago 16 12 0
As you can see, Gyokeres’ stats do not compare favourably amongst the top strikers in the Premier League at the moment. In particular, Erling Haaland has scored more than triple the amount that the Swede has mustered across all competitions.
However, when looking at these stats, Gyokeres’ role at Arsenal must be taken into account. He offers more than just goals – his primary role in the team is to press defenders and prevent teams from playing out from the back, which he does very effectively.
Additionally, Arsenal have plenty of players who can score regular goals – they don’t need to rely on one man. Players such as Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino have all scored at least five goals across all competitions this season.
As such, Gyokeres is relatively free to go about his business as a defensive-minded forward. Despite this, his meagre goalscoring record remains an issue – against some of the top teams in the division, he sometimes fails to even rattle off a single shot on goal, let alone find the back of the net.
Can Viktor Gyokeres be a long-term success at Arsenal?
To suggest that Gyokeres cannot achieve long-term success at Arsenal – especially at such an early stage – is foolish. Thierry Henry is widely considered to be the greatest Arsenal striker of all time, but he took a while to get going as well. He didn’t score in his first eight Premier League games – the rest is history.
Fans want instant results in today’s game. It isn’t surprising to see people lambasting him and bemoaning the money spent on him, but it’s still very early doors at the moment.
Gyokeres has come from an environment that is practically alien to the Premier League. In the Primeira Liga, the game is often played at a much slower pace. Defenders aren’t as aggressive or physical, which gave Gyokeres the time and space he needed to score goals.
He hasn’t been afforded this in the Premier League, but Mikel Arteta’s plan for him is clear. He isn’t Arsenal’s main source of goals, nor does he need to be – he just needs to be a nuisance off the ball for him to fit into the system.