Viktor Gyokeres - seen as the key to winning their first title since 2004 - has only found the net four times in the opening 16 league games
08:00, 18 Dec 2025
Mikel Arteta brought Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal in the summer transfer window
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Mikel Arteta brought Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal in the summer transfer window(Image: Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)
Jermaine Jenas has claimed Arsenal will win the title without £64m striker Viktor Gyokeres. “He’s not really showing the capabilities of being a top Premier League striker currently,” claimed the former Spurs midfielder.
Mikel Arteta’s side sit two points clear at the top from Manchester City. But the Swedish striker - seen as the key to winning their first title since 2004 - has only found the net four times in the opening 16 league games.
That is the same number as Leandro Trossard and Eberechi Eze - and only one more than Mikel Merino. And Jenas said: “I watched him (Gyokeres) live a couple of times and when he was fit and flying, and I liked what he brought to that Arsenal team because it was just very different. His style is totally different. But what he does do is he makes defenders work, he runs them into channels, he beats them up.
“He does a lot of stuff that would create a lot of space for players like Eze and (Martin) Odegaard to work their magic in. I do think though to be a real success, he needs to add more goals to his game.
“It quietened down a few people, but he's not really showing the capabilities of being a top Premier League striker currently. So there is a little bit of an issue there. I think with Arteta, eventually he'll get more and more frustrated and he'll end up playing Merino up there or (Kai) Havertz when he's fit, maybe Trossard or Eze. Because he knows that the ball retention will be there and they'll create chances.”
Arsenal needed two own goals to beat bottom club Wolves last weekend and face a tricky visit to Everton on Saturday before hosting Brighton and third-placed Aston Villa before the New Year.
“I do think Arsenal are still favourites,” the ex-England star told 10bet. “I’ve been saying it from the start of the season. I think they've got the best team. I think they've shown in the last couple of games that without Saliba and Gabriel together, the frailties are there and they don't have that stable foundation to build off. But I assume they'll both be back come the new year. Saliba was back this weekend, but either way, I don't see a better team in the league right now.
“I think City are making a really good run of it, but they've still got a clanger in them. But they've had a couple of big results recently. You know, City are going to test them, put it that way. City are going to push Arsenal to see if they've learned any lessons, but I believe they have and I think they'll get over the line this time.”
And the former Nottingham Forest and Newcastle midfielder thinks the Gunners will be able to stay ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side. "I don't think City will overtake Arsenal over Christmas. The issue with it is, City have the ability right now to go on the type of unbeaten runs that they've gone on in the past to really apply that pressure. I'd be absolutely shocked if this group of players at Arsenal have not learned their lesson with regards to just dealing with pressure when it gets to the business end of the season.
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“They had a bit of a wobble against Wolves the other day and got away with it. You do need a lot of luck at times, things to go your way. We've seen that with City over the years and Liverpool, and the great teams that have won the Premier League title.
“The only thing I would say about Arsenal that worries me a little bit is that they don't seem to be blowing teams away. It's always like a one-nil, two-nil type of situation where you're always putting yourself under pressure doing that. But I still think even if we get to New Year's Day and they're behind City, I think they'll go on and win it.”
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