Viktor Gyokeres has been a major source of debate in the 2025/26 Premier League season. Some believe he is the perfect striker for his role at Arsenal – meanwhile, others believe that his time at the Emirates Stadium has been nothing short of a disaster.
Today, we’ll be looking at which of the two camps has the more convincing argument. We’ll be looking at his stats and comparing them against other Premier League strikers – as well as the fee that the Gunners shelled out to bring him on board.
Viktor Gyokeres vs ‘Big Six’ forwards in 2025/26
How Viktor Gyokeres has improved Arsenal
As you can see, Viktor Gyokeres’ goalscoring record this season is by no means poor, but it isn’t particularly spectacular either. Nevertheless, to judge Gyokeres solely on his goal contributions is to gravely misunderstand his main role on the pitch.
Despite being the lone striker, Gyokeres’ primary purpose isn’t to put the ball in the back of the net – it is to put pressure on opposition defenders and force them into risky passes. He never waits on the shoulder of the last man – the Swedish international is always trying to involve himself in some form or fashion.
Gyokeres’ finishing is far from pinpoint – this season, only 39% of the shots he has had have been on target. When compared with Gabriel Jesus, who has hit the target with 64% of his shots, it shows that he isn’t a natural goalscorer.
As such, while Gyokeres can certainly be criticised for his relatively lacklustre finishing, one shouldn’t forget all the other attributes that he brings to the table.
Did Arsenal pay too much for Viktor Gyokeres?
It is tempting to suggest that Arsenal overpaid to sign Gyokeres, but when the current state of the market is taken into consideration, the fee they paid makes a lot more sense.
Arsenal paid a total of £54.8 million to secure Gyokeres’ services from Sporting CP in the summer. He was their third-most expensive signing of the transfer window, behind Martin Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze.
This isn’t an inconsiderable amount of money, but it pails in comparison to some of the other deals conducted in the 2025 summer transfer window. For example, Manchester United paid £71 million to sign Bryan Mbeumo, who only has two extra goal contributions to his name over Gyokeres this season.
Despite this, no one has even suggested the idea that Mbeumo might be a ‘flop’ – he is widely regarded as one of the better transfer signings of the summer.
United also paid more for Benjamin Sesko, who has two fewer goal contributions to his name than Gyokeres does this season (albeit in fewer appearances).
Therefore, while Gyokeres hasn’t set the Premier League on fire like some may have thought he would, it is drastically unfair to call him a ‘flop’ – his transfer fee is a case of the current market inflation in the sport, rather than Arsenal overpaying.