Arsenal expert Charles Watts has admitted that he is fearful Viktor Gyokeres has suffered a hamstring injury after his finest 45 minutes in a Gunners shirt so far.
The Sweden international ended his Premier League goal drought and played a critical role in Declan Rice's goal during Saturday's 2-0 win over Burnley, but he was then surprisingly withdrawn at half time, a change that sparked immediate concern.
Mikel Arteta confirmed at full time that Gyokeres had felt muscular pain - hence his premature withdrawal - and BBC Sport now report that the 27-year-old will undergo further tests this week amid fears that he has damaged his hamstring.
Gyokeres might be back in time for the North London derby, but the official diagnosis has not yet been confirmed, and Watts has conceded that an injury may have been inevitable given Gyokeres's lack of rest so far this season.
Asked by Sports Mole if an injury to the striker was an accident waiting to happen, Watts replied: “Potentially. It’s a massive blow, no doubt about it. I was a little bit worried after Mikel's comments in the press conference - he didn't exactly paint a rosy picture. I was hoping to get some quite positive news. It didn't exactly fill me with confidence what Mikel had to say.
Viktor Gyokeres injury: "Immediately thinking hamstring"
Charles Watts YouTube image
“I've heard a couple of things, but nothing that I could say definitely in terms of what it is. But when he's talking about him being such an explosive player, immediately your head's thinking hamstring. And that would just be a massive blow.
“The fact that it happens just as Kai is about to come back is even more disappointing. If Gyokeres is out for any significant amount of time, then suddenly Havertz is going to have to be thrown straight back in. You can't ease him in because there's no other option at the moment. So that would be really disappointing.
“I wanted to see the two of them play together anyway. You saw how good Gyokeres was against Burnley after having the rest against Brighton – he just looked so re-energised. And with Havertz back, that could happen a lot because you could just rotate and keep everyone fresh. I'm talking like he’s definitely going to be out for a long time - I don't know that yet, but it is a big, big blow.
“Arsenal have now got this super squad, and we're suddenly back to Mikel Merino playing up front. How has this happened? All the injuries are in the forward department, which is crazy.”
Gyokeres was making his 10th consecutive Premier League start at Turf Moor, and the ex-Sporting Lisbon striker had also appeared from the first whistle in each of Arsenal's three Champions League games in the 2025-26 season due to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus's injuries.
Prior to his issue, the only game that the Scandinavian sat out completely was the 2-0 EFL Cup fourth-round win over Brighton & Hove Albion, where teenage talent Andre Harriman-Annous led the line instead.
Viktor Gyokeres injured after "best" Arsenal display "by a distance"
Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres pictured on November 1, 2025
Gyokeres had completed the full 90 minutes in five straight Premier League games before the victory at Burnley, and he has played the fourth-most league minutes of any Arsenal outfielder with 803, only behind Declan Rice (806), Martin Zubimendi (849) and Gabriel Magalhaes (900).
Nevertheless, the 27-year-old clearly put in his best 45 minutes of the season so far in Lancashire, adding: "Yeah, undoubtedly. He was really, really good. The goal was nice – it’s what you want to see. I love the fact we've seen him score a couple of really scrappy goals in the six-yard box - I was complaining earlier on in the season that he wasn't in there to finish off those chances.
“But his all-round game - his touch, hold-up play, link-up play - he was just on it at the weekend. Everything was sticking. He was bringing players into play, set up two great chances for Bukayo Saka, should have got a couple of assists. His play for the goal, the drilled past the cross was exquisite. It was just his best performance by a distance.
“So it was such a shame what happened after that. There was no sign of it.”
However, Arsenal did not need Gyokeres to ease past Slavia Prague 3-0in Tuesday's Champions League fixture, where auxiliary centre-forward Mikel Merino was on target twice in the second half.
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