Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insisted that Viktor Gyökeres “has so many things that are probably not that noticeable” which makes him an effective player even when he isn’t scoring, including the way that he enhances the performances of his teammates.
Gyökeres was extracted from Sporting CP over the summer at great expense—both financially and emotionally given the tense nature of negotiations—with the simple brief of scoring goals.
The Gunners finished the 2024–25 campaign in second place for the third season running. Kai Havertz was the team’s most prolific player with just nine Premier League goals, ending a 101-year run of at least one Arsenal player hitting double digits in the league.
Boasting a swollen haul of 54 goals in 52 appearances for Sporting last season, Gyökeres was expected to solve these issues in front of goal, yet has struggled to translate his form in the Portuguese top flight to England’s Premier League.
It hasn’t been a campaign entirely devoid of goals—Gyökeres currently leads Arsenal with three in the league—but the Swedish finisher hasn’t found the back of the net since tapping in against Nottingham Forest on Sep. 13. Heading into this weekend’s fixtures, Gyökeres is currently enduring a goal drought which stretches to eight games and 646 minutes for club and country.
But Arteta is looking beyond those top-line numbers.
“He’s going to give you something extra,” Arteta said of Gyökeres while previewing Saturday’s trip to Fulham. “Viktor has so many things that are probably not that noticeable. But he also creates an environment and space and solutions for a lot of the players around him, and with the talent that we have in the team, I’m sure that everybody, including him, will benefit from that.”
Gyökeres’s sheer presence as a fixed central striker is a new quality for Arsenal, who spent large swathes of last season with the unorthodox Havertz and natural midfielder Mikel Merino upfront. Defenders routinely grapple with Gyökeres, which may take him out of action but also, as Arteta pointed out, creates space for his teammates to exploit.
Even when he’s not in direct contact with the ball or an opposition body, Gyökeres can make a difference. The burly forward leads the Premier League for off-ball runs into the penalty box this season (49), per , naturally unsettling rearguards with his myriad of forward darts.
