Ah, the elusive striker. It's something Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have been having nightmares about throughout the entirety of 2025.
The Gunners came into this year in desperate need of a new centre-forward to lead the line. That requirement was only heightened when Gabriel Jesus sustained an ACL injury back in January in the FA Cup.
Gabriel Jesus Arsenal injury
The winter window went by without an addition to the attacking ranks. Lo and behold, Kai Havertz suffered a hamstring in early February, meaning Arteta's side were in bother.
Leandro Trossard was something of a solution and while the Belgian has come good in 2025/26, he was not the remedy that Arsenal struck gold with. Mikel Merino was.
The Spaniard has had a remarkable 2025. He's been one of their players of the year and he deserves all of the accolades he's getting.
At Dortmund, he was used as a makeshift centre-half at times, but Arteta has turned him into a genuine elite number 9. As of Christmas, Merino had registered 30 goal involvements for club and country.
It's safe to say he's enjoyed a far better year than a certain Viktor Gyokeres.
Why Viktor Gyokeres has struggled at Arsenal
Arsenal may well have failed to sign a striker last January but they made sure they didn't repeat that back in the summer transfer window.
The likes of Ollie Watkins and Benjamin Sesko were targeted but spearheaded by Andrea Berta, the Gunners landed upon Gyokeres instead.
On paper, he looked like a solid signing. Arsenal were paying £63.5m for a striker who scored 54 goals in 52 matches last season. It looked like a bargain considering Liverpool signed Alexander Isak for £125m and Nick Woltemade transferred to Newcastle for £69m.
Big striker moves in summer 2025 transfer window (timeless)
On reflection, however, it feels as though Arsenal may well wasted a bit of cash on the Swedish striker. Why? Well, he's been a tad underwhelming so far.
What Arteta was in dire need of as they approached the ongoing campaign was goals. Gyokeres was brought to supply that but heading into Christmas, he has only found the net seven times in the famous red and white.
Arsenal-Viktor-Gyokeres
An injury in November did disrupt his progress at a cruel time, however. The former Sporting man had scored against Burnley and appeared to finally be finding his feet in north London. He was forced to come off at half-time and his form since returning from injury has been incredibly poor.
Gyokeres managed a combined touch count of 38 across games with Aston Villa, Club Brugge and Wolves. He also only managed to complete 12 passes throughout those matches.
Gyokeres vs Brugge
Now, of course, you don't need to touch the ball a million times to score a goal. Erling Haaland is evidence of that. Sadly, Arsenal's own striker isn't scoring at the same rate as the Norwegian.
He looks frenetic in front of goal and struggles to create goal-scoring opportunities for himself. Arsenal are stuck trying to provide solely for him.
With Merino up top, he brings others into play and you get a much vaster array of qualities from your striker. Perhaps more worrying, though, is that Jesus has looked more lively and more likely to score in his few cameos since returning from his ACL injury.
That has been the warning sign that's really sparked fear among supporters. Gyokeres may not be the man who will fire them to the title.
How they must wish they had a former Hale Ender in their ranks.
Hale Ender outperforming Gyokeres after leaving Arsenal
It's safe to say that Arsenal have produced plenty of incredibly attacking talents from Hale End in the last few years.
Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe stand proud as two talents to have made Arteta's formative years as a manager easier.
Saka-Raya-Arsenal
However, we've also seen the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman break through. Elsewhere, AS Monaco forwards Mika Biereth and Folarin Balogun have earned their stripes on the continent having decided to flee English football.
The same can be said of a certain Harry Kane. His story has been a remarkable one. From being rejected and spat out of the Arsenal youth system as a boy, he went around the houses to fulfil a number of loans in the EFL before becoming England and Tottenham Hotspur's record goalscorer. He is now widely known as one of the best centre-forwards in world football.
harry-kane-tottenham-man-utd-white-hart-lane
So, let's start at the beginning. A boyhood Gooner, how did it come to pass that Kane left Arsenal behind?
Detailing the events of 20 years ago, Liam Brady once revealed that Kane left for a simple reason: "He was a bit chubby, he wasn't very athletic." Brady then admitted: "We made a mistake."
Harry Kane record @ senior level
Team
Spurs
Bayern
England
Millwall
Orient
Leicester
Norwich
In an alternative reality, Kane has enjoyed an incredible career with Arsenal. Sadly, that was not how it transpired for those involved.
It was at their fierce rivals, Spurs, where he became a global hit. He netted 280 goals in 435 games for the Lilywhites, cementing himself as one of the best players we've ever seen in this country. At international level, he is an icon and should the Three Lions win the World Cup next summer, he will surely rubber-stamp his legacy as the best player to ever pull on the England shirt.
Gyokeres, the scorer of 50-plus goals last term, did beat Kane to the Gerd Muller Trophy for Europe's best goalscorer in 2024/25, but the latter has proven during the current season that he is the continent's best. He's certainly streets ahead of Arsenal's new number 14.
Kane vs Gyokeres since 2024-25
While the Swedish powerhouse has only scored six, Kane has been in red-hot form. The 32-year-old may be approaching the latter stages of his career but he is in the form of his life having scored a jaw-dropping 30 goals in 25 outings for Bayern Munich this season.
Following an £86m move from Spurs a few years ago, he has been worth every penny as he continues to cement himself as the best striker in the game. Not even Haaland can match Kane's numbers this season.
harry-kane-bayern
If only Arteta could call upon a striker of their calibre. The title would surely be guaranteed to head in the direction of the Emirates.
gyokeres Related
[Arsenal can revive Gyokeres by signing "the best winger in the country"](https://www.footballfancast.com/arsenal-can-revive-gyokeres-by-signing-semenyo/ "Arsenal can revive Gyokeres by signing "the best winger in the country"")
The international game-changer could be just the player Arsenal needs to get Gyokeres firing.