HP Terbaru 2023 – Viktor Gyökeres is coming good in 2026

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By Sam McGuire

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The 27-year-old moved to Arsenal in a deal reportedly worth £63.5million, inclusive of add-ons. The Gunners earmarked him from the off, believing him to be the final piece of the puzzle at the Emirates. Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak, João Pedro and Benjamin Šeško were all on the move but the powerhouse Swede was the one for Mikel Arteta. 

During his final season with Sporting, the one-time Brighton forward scored 39 goals and averaged an astonishing 4.46 shots per 90 in the Portuguese top-flight. He was a final third machine. With Arsenal wanting someone to fire them to the title, adding someone who had 68 goals across his last two league campaigns seemed like smart business. 

There was, however, one large problem. For all of their dominance, Arsenal weren’t exactly renowned for their ability to carve out chances. They ranked sixth in the Premier League last season for Expected Goals with a total of 61.6. For context, league winners Liverpool had an xG total of 83.5. During the 2023/24 campaign, Arteta’s men ranked third for xG, 12 behind stat leaders Liverpool. They also ranked third during the 2022/23 season. 

Last season, Kai Havertz topped the charts for Arsenal with nine goals in the Premier League. Jamie Vardy, Tomáš Souček, Iliman Ndiaye, and Alex Iwobi also all finished with nine goals to their name. Beto and Amad, for example, trialled the former Chelsea man by a single goal. 

And it isn’t as though Havertz had been wasteful with his opportunities. The No. 29 finished the season with an Expected Goals haul of just 9.56. 

Arsenal did everything well up until the final part. Their forwards are starved of service. So while adding a goalscorer to a team lacking goals seemed like an obvious solution, Gyökeres was going to have to adapt. He was going to have to change up his game. At Sporting, he was the main man and the attack was centred around getting the best out of him. It’s why he was averaging over four shots per 90 and had an Expected Goals per 90 average of 0.99.

He wasn’t ever going to be able to replicate those numbers at the Emirates. Did they need him to though? Probably not. They just needed him to put the ball into the back of the net when it mattered. 

As we head into March, the narrative around Gyökeres is that he’s been a waste of money for the Gunners. Before the North London derby last weekend, the Sweden international had failed to have a shot on target in 60% of his appearances in the Premier League. In the English top-flight, he’d failed to deliver in a big game for Arteta’s side. 

His eight goals had arrived in games against Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, Everton and Sunderland. 

Against Tottenham, though, he stole the show. He claimed a FotMob rating of 9.0 following his two goal haul. 

What was positive from an Arsenal point of view was how well he combined with Eberechi Eze. The pair split the four goals on the day and Gyökeres seemed a lot more involved due to the presence of the No. 10 on the pitch. 

Eze struck up quite a good understanding with Jean-Philippe Mateta while at Crystal Palace and his experience playing with a pure centre-forward no doubt benefits Gyökeres. Against Spurs, as evidenced in his heat map, he dropped a little deeper and found pockets of space. His first goal summed it up. Eze pinned Radu Drăgușin with a run that freed up Gyökeres on the edge of the area. He curled home an emphatic effort to give the Gunners the lead. It was simple but effective. A lot of the time this season he’s been isolated. Against Igor Tudor’s side, he wasn’t. 

It was probably his best game of the season. He finished the game with two goals from four shots, one big chance created and a 100% dribble success rate. 

His two goals took his haul for the season to 10 in the Premier League. We’re only in February and he’s already surpassed Havertz’s return. He’s only appeared in just over 1,700 minutes in the English top-tier and he’s into double digits. While he is not in the same realm as Erling Haaland, Gyökeres has delivered for Arsenal. The 27-year-old is exceeding his underlying numbers (8.32 xG this season) and still finding the back of the net despite a reduction in shot volume (he’s averaging just 2.13 per 90). 

Gyökeres has been a success story for the Gunners. Of the big money summer signings, only João Pedro (11) has more and he had Premier League experience. And, more importantly, Arteta’s side have a five point lead at the summit. 

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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