Arsenal are top of the Premier League again. Rejoice! The Gunners slipped back into second for all of three days but life is still not truly rosy again just yet.
After all, the Gunners have blown a nine-point lead and Manchester City are firmly in the picture, perhaps even favourites to run away with the league title in a months time.
Crucially, City also have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta's men again. Fortunately, they did secure a 1-0 win last weekend.
Eze-Havertz-Hincapie-Arsenal
Eberechi Eze's goal was a typical Eze strike, a menacing hit that fizzed past Nick Pope. The game's only goal, it was a worthy effort to send Arsenal top of the league.
Yet, the performance was another nervy one. They may well have scored from a short corner but you could cut the tension inside the Emirates Stadium with a knife in the opening stages when they played several set-pieces short to no avail.
That said, a win is a win and Arsenal are on the charge again. Still, the display of those in the attack was not good enough. Just ask Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres fails to inspire Arsenal again vs Newcastle
Have you ever seen a player divide opinion quite like Gyokeres? The Swede has been the definition of a marmite figure since arriving back in English football from Sporting.
Last term, he bagged 54 goals in 52 games. This season, he has not got anywhere near it. No one was ever expecting him to hit those dizzy heights but there was a hope that this was a player who would get Arsenal over the line in their quest for glory.
Gyokeres 2024-25 season in numbers (timeless) (1)
He still might, and to his credit, he is Arsenal's top scorer with 18 goals in 2025/26. Yet, despite that, it still doesn't feel as though he's truly settled in. It's a perplexing case, truth be told.
At one stage in 2026, it looked as though the hulking centre-forward was finally in the groove. He had scored eight times in 12 games between the 3-2 win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup in January and the North London derby at the end of February.
Yet, things have become tough again for the former Coventry City man. He has just one goal in his last five matches at club level and didn't even start the crucial game with Manchester City.
Kai Havertz was favoured again on Saturday evening but had to be withdrawn through injury, meaning Gyokeres led the line for the best part of an hour.
gyokeres-arsenal
His display, however, was not good enough. The Sweden international left the field with just 17 touches and five completed passes to his name. What has been most troubling is the frequency with which he loses the ball. Alarmingly, the striker is unsuccessful with 40% of the touches he takes. It does not paint him favourably compared to other forwards in the Premier League.
Gyokeres touch success vs PL strikers
Player
Viktor Gyokeres
Erling Haaland
Igor Thiago
Joao Pedro
That not only frustrates supporters but even left Riccardo Calafiori visibly frustrated when Gyokeres failed to play a simple pass last weekend.
Still, he's arguably not the poorest signing Andrea Berta and Co made last summer.
Arsenal's new Rob Holding is worse than Gyokeres
When the transfer window closed last summer, Arsenal were generally applauded for the work they had concluded in the market.
Yet, nearly a year on and a lot of the business is being questioned. Gyokeres is one of the chief suspects but he has arguably not been worse than a certain Noni Madueke.
How does he link to Rob Holding, we hear you ask? Well, he's been one of the main underperformers for Arteta in a title race.
rob-holding-arsenal
Cast your mind back to 2022/23 and you may well remember the part Holding played in Arsenal's failed quest to win the Premier League. William Saliba suffered a worrying back injury against Sporting in the Europa League and back then, the club's defensive depth wasn't so impressive.
Holding stepped in and the Gunners paid the price. While they won their first two league games in Saliba's absence, defeating Crystal Palace and Leeds United 4-1, they failed to win any of their next four matches. Arsenal ultimately lost the title by five points.
Rob Holding's run of games - 2022/23
Fixture
Crystal Palace (H)
Leeds (H)
Liverpool (A)
West Ham (A)
Southampton (H)
Man City (A)
Chelsea (H)
That run is eerily similar to the present day and while it may not be a central defender hampering Arteta's side, there is one clear scapegoat: Madueke.
Like Holding, he has desperately underperformed in recent games. This time, it was another key squad member who got injured. Bukayo Saka did start the Carabao Cup final defeat but then missed the defeats to Southampton, Bournemouth and the league loss to City.
Madueke-Arsenal-Saka
During that time, Madueke failed to score or assist a goal. In fact, he was really abject, particularly during the visit to the Etihad Stadium when he was subbed off at half time with no shots or key passes to his name.
He was equally disappointing against Newcastle last weekend. He lasted 80 minutes on this occasion but was still underwhelming. He lost the ball 11 times from 37 touches in a game where he registered just one key pass. He has not done a lot to solve Arsenal's lack of creativity.
Signed for £52m last summer, it has been a really disappointing debut campaign at the Emirates for the England international. Plenty were sceptical of his arrival and they were right to be. He has not improved the club and while they may have secured greater depth, it's not amazing depth. Arteta and his side would have been better off with Ethan Nwaneri in the picture.
Having scored just seven goals all season, pound for pound he has certainly been a worse signing than Gyokeres. Here's just hoping his bid to win the league ends in a happier way than it did for the aforementioned Holding.
Eze-Havertz-Hincapie-Arsenal Related
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Eberechi Eze could be joined by an explosive talent on the left-hand side of the Arsenal team.