Viktor Gyokeres has experienced a mixed start to life at Arsenal, but news emerging from the North London club on Wednesday evening could help him significantly.
The Swede has found the back of the net three times this term for the Gunners – a disappointing return given how prolific he was in Portugal.
Critics feel that the striker has been technically poor since he arrived in N5, while his goal-scoring prowess hasn’t been able to make up for this.
However, Gyokeres did produce some encouraging performances prior to the international break, which he will now look to build on in upcoming fixtures.
Viktor Gyokeres could get much better with Kai Havertz set to return from injury
Arsenal spent £63 million on Gyokeres in July.
Thus, it’s reasonable for the Gunners to expect output from him from the outset, and he’s yet to really deliver on this front.
That said, internally, Arsenal are happy with how Gyokeres has started. Mikel Arteta is particularly pleased with the relentless running the 27-year-old does for the team.
Indeed, the former Coventry man’s game is reliant on making sprints in behind the opposition’s defence consistently throughout his time on the pitch. Thus, it’s no surprise that he struggled in his most recent outing in red and white, against West Ham, having played 90 minutes twice in five days before this game.
Gyokeres has been burnt out and overloaded with minutes in the last month due to Kai Havertz’s injury. His best performance came away at Newcastle, after having been rested in midweek against Port Vale, and this clearly demonstrates that he’s able to produce when well rested.
For this reason, he’ll be delighted after seeing the news that Havertz is now close to a return.
The German has reportedly been making remarkable progress in his rehabilitation and could be back on the pitch a lot sooner than first anticipated.
Once the former Chelsea man is back in the frame, Arteta will be able to rotate between the two strikers and keep them both fresh.
This will enable Gyokeres to go full pelt with his running, maximising his strengths. This should, in theory, elicit more goals from him over time.
Kai Havertz will start over Viktor Gyokeres in big games
It’s been well documented that Havertz would’ve started over Gyokeres at the beginning of the campaign had he been fit.
It’s understood that the idea was to slowly integrate the new signing, allowing him to bed in and adapt to English football at his own pace.
Instead, Gyokeres has had something of a baptism of fire, thrown into the deep end from the outset.
| Viktor Gyokeres’ Premier League Statistics 2025/26 | |
| Appearances | 7 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Shots per 90 | 2.19 |
| Non-Penalty Expected Goals per 90 | 0.34 |
| Key Passes per 90 | 0.78 |
| Expected Assists per 90 | 0.08 |
When Havertz returns, it will be fascinating to see what the approach is. It’s likely that the Germany international’s attributes will cater towards him starting against better opposition.
Havertz is excellent in the air and can hold the ball up more effectively than Gyokeres. This should mean that he’s more useful in matches where retaining possession is more difficult, but also more crucial.
Meanwhile, against teams that will happily cede the ball, Gyokeres’ movement in behind will be more valuable.
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