ANALYSIS: Should Arsenal be Concerned About Viktor Gyokeres’ goal drought?

ANALYSIS: Should Arsenal be Concerned About Viktor Gyokeres’ goal drought?

Viktor Gyokeres’ recent goal drought has sparked debate among Arsenal fans and pundits alike. We break down what’s behind his dip in form and whether Mikel Arteta should be concerned heading into a crucial stretch of the season.

Viktor Gyokeres was signed as the final piece of Mikel Arteta’s puzzle, a prolific number nine that would score goals, lead Arsenal to Premier League glory, and end their five-year trophy drought.

With only three goals in his first eleven appearances across all competitions, things haven’t quite clicked for him on a personal level. Fortunately for the 27-year-old, Arsenal continue to pick up wins even without his direct contribution.

The striker has now gone nine games for club and country without scoring a goal, should the Gunners be worried?

Even from a neutral perspective, watching the big Swede can be frustrating. There have been plenty of occasions where either his touch or a loose pass has let him down in attacking areas.

Gyokeres’ physical presence allows for Arsenal to play more direct, something Arteta appears to be a huge fan of at the moment, with his teammates firing balls that are inherently harder to control than a simple short pass to his feet.

That’s not to say he’s been set up to fail, Gyokeres was handed a penalty in the 5-0 win over Leeds earlier in the season to help boost his confidence, Arsenal are simply having to adapt to a more transitional style in order to try and get the best out of him.

The system at Sporting was perfectly suited to Gyokeres. He thrives on running in behind defences, using his acceleration and clever diagonal runs to exploit space and create high-quality chances.

Physically strong and technically sharp, he can hold off defenders, link play, and finish with both feet, but he’s most dangerous when driving forward in transition or receiving vertical passes into space.

More often than not, as the favourites to win the Premier League, Arsenal will come up against low blocks. Arteta’s side have averaged 58.6% possession across their opening eight league games, which is more than they did in 2024-25 (57%), albeit that was the entire campaign.

Comparing the Premier League to the Liga Portugal is also apples and oranges. Back at Sporting, Gyokeres would have an extra second to make a decision, now at Arsenal, opposition defenders are on him in the blink of an eye.

It’s not all doom and gloom, Gyokeres is doing plenty of great things at Arsenal, even if he isn’t scoring, and with the North London sitting at the top of the Premier League table, fans won’t be too bothered about his record.

"I think Viktor's playing really, really well," Saka said after the 2-0 win over West Ham.

"There's no doubt he's going to score goals. What he's bringing to this team, us as his team-mates, we're so grateful for what he does - how he holds the ball, how he makes the runs, the threat he gives us.

"He's a big part of the reason why we're winning these games. His goals will come. We know that we believe that and we believe in him. I don't think there's any doubts. He's still up, he's still happy and he's still giving his best every game."

Arteta has praised his work rate time and time again, with the numbers clearly stating the Spaniard is right to do so. Gyokeres has won possession in the final third five times, made 16 recoveries, and won 30 duels.

His persistence is also commendable. Despite his issues in front of goal, Gyokeres isn’t hiding, he’s still managed to amass 53 touches in the opposition box, created five chances, and had 18 shots, seven of which have been on target.

Gyokeres continues to get into great positions, his first goal in the win over Leeds was exactly what he does best, sprinting into the channel between the left-back and centre-back, cutting inside and scoring, even if it did look a little clunky.

Perception of the striker has been helped by the fact Arsenal are winning games, looking solid, and are now favourites to win the league. If that wasn’t the case and Gyokeres wasn’t scoring, the story would be totally different.

If you were to ask an Arsenal fan if they’d take winning the league buy Gyokeres doesn’t score another goal, they’d be fine with that.