Arsenal’s season continues to be shaped by fine margins, selection debates and the evolving demands placed on modern forwards. Few players embody that uncertainty more than Viktor Gyokeres, a striker whose arrival in north London was framed as a statement of intent, but whose first campaign has delivered more questions than answers.
With Manchester United visiting on Super Sunday, Gyokeres could be handed another opportunity to make his case. So far, his Premier League return stands at five goals, a total that feels modest for a player signed to lead Arsenal’s line. Yet within the club, there remains a reluctance to rush to judgement, a reflection of how complex striker evaluation has become in a league that increasingly asks forwards to be more than finishers.
Arteta’s long-term view on Gyokeres
Mikel Arteta has been careful to widen the lens through which Gyokeres is assessed. His comments suggest an understanding that adaptation is rarely linear, particularly for forwards adjusting to the physicality, pace and tactical demands of the Premier League.
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“Let’s assess him at the end of the season and even sometimes that is too short a sample.
“We also need to understand the league that we are competing in and what is happening to the (number) nines across the league and the manner that the game is changing.
“So, there are a lot of factors to bear in mind when we assess the player, and then we’re going to assess him, not only in one aspect of the game but in many aspects of the game.”
Those remarks hint at a broader truth. Arsenal’s expectations for Gyokeres extend beyond goals. Pressing, link play, occupying defenders and creating space for others all form part of the modern striker’s job description. In that sense, five league goals tell only part of the story, even if they dominate external narratives.
Manchester United test looms
The visit of Manchester United offers Gyokeres a stage that tends to sharpen judgement. Big games have a habit of accelerating opinions, particularly for forwards whose contributions are most visible on the scoresheet. For Arsenal, the fixture arrives at a moment when patience and performance are being asked to coexist.
How Gyokeres handles that pressure will matter, but so too will how Arsenal frame his role. The club’s recent history is filled with examples of players who needed time to recalibrate their games to English football. Whether Gyokeres follows that path remains one of the quieter but more significant subplots of Arsenal’s season.