Football can be an odd game sometimes.
In the first few games of this season, Viktor Gyokeres looked like a little boy lost. Hardly seeing any game time, completely out of form and questions over his future. Then the international break happened.
Kai Havertz had started Arsenal’s Premier League campaign as the manager’s preferred option through the middle, scoring twice in his opening five league appearances. Then away with Germany, he picked up a hamstring injury that is likely to see him miss the next few weeks.
What the international break took from Havertz, it gave to Gyokeres.
Gyokeres scored in 4 goals in 4 games for Sweden during this international break and has now found the net in seven consecutive Nations League matches, setting a competition record.
Not only was he finding the back of the net, he looked sharp, ready and focused. And that is exactly what Mikel Arteta needs.
With Havertz out, it is difficult to imagine a better time for Gyokeres to rediscover his swagger and Saturday’s meeting with Leeds could therefore represent something of a reset.
Gyokeres knows where the goal is against Daniel Farke’s side, having scored three times against Leeds last season. More importantly, he now has the confidence that comes from consistently putting the ball in the net.
But Arteta does have another option.
Mikel Merino has already shown that he can operate as a makeshift striker, and his qualities are arguably closer to Havertz’s than Gyokeres’. He can link play, hold the ball up, bring others into the game and arrive late in the box. And last night he scored twice as Spain came from behind to beat Croatia.
Merino could be particularly useful if Arteta wants Arsenal to continue playing in a way that relies on combination football rather than simply looking for runs in behind.
The contrast between the two is fascinating.
Gyokeres offers power, pace and that instinctive striker’s movement. He wants to run beyond defenders and attack the spaces between centre-back and full-back. Merino, meanwhile, can provide a more connective presence, giving Arsenal another body between the lines and allowing the likes of Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze to benefit from his movement.
Ideally, Arsenal won’t have to choose between the two for too long.
But with Havertz unavailable, this is their moment.
For Gyokeres, it is a chance to remind everyone why Arsenal signed him in the first place.
For Merino, it is another opportunity to demonstrate just how valuable his versatility can be.
And for Arteta, it is another test of the depth and adaptability he has spent years building into this squad.
The international break has created an unwanted problem.
Now Gyokeres and Merino have the chance to turn it into an opportunity.
**DJ**