[](https://yankeegooner.net/why-has-gyokeres-been-used-so-sparingly-this-season/)
Viktor Gyökeres was not brought to Arsenal to spend his afternoons watching football from the bench. After scoring 54 goals in 52 appearances for Sporting in 2024/25, the expectation was obvious: goals, power and a constant threat running beyond defenders.
So why has his involvement sometimes been limited so far this season?
After Arsenal’s first 7 matches, the striker has made 4 appearances for a total of 173 minutes played. He is yet to score a goal this season.
The first answer is tactical. Mikel Arteta has never treated the centre-forward position as a simple case of picking the biggest goalscorer and building everything around him. Arsenal’s attack demands pressing, combination play and intelligent movement, and different opponents can require different profiles.
There is also the question of game style. Gyökeres is particularly dangerous when defenders have space behind them. The Premier League itself highlighted how his pace and direct running can become especially threatening against tiring, higher defensive lines.
That can make him a devastating weapon later in matches, rather than necessarily the automatic answer from the first whistle. Kai Havertz has seemed to have won that role so far.
But there is another important point. Last season Viktor scored 14 Premier League goals, finishing as Arsenal’s leading league scorer as they won the Premier League title. The interesting question, then, is not whether Gyökeres can play for Arsenal., the question is how much will he play?
His playing time will be determined by how Arteta intends to use his particular strengths within an attack that already has several ways of hurting opponents.
Time will tell for the Swede.
Cheers.
Gunner1953