Viktor Gyokeres has been labelled as clunky, clumsy and a one-trick pony in as much breath as he has been labeled a ruthless finisher. Such is the discourse on the big Swede among the footballing community. Whatever you think of him, Sunday’s Premier League clash against defending champions Liverpool, offers Gyokeres the chance to announce himself to the league and make a statement.
Arsenal vs Leeds
Flashback to last weekend at the Emirates (and yes I’m still watching that Eze introduction to the crowd, smiling all the way, almost smitten). In the first half, Arsenal were huffing and puffing to break down newly promoted side Leeds. Gyokeres was being marked tightly by Pascal Struijk and for half an hour, it was a frustrating watch for Arsenal fans. I was nervous. Gyokeres badly needed a goal. The Emirates needed to see that bane-referenced mask celebration.
In came Nicolas Jover to the rescue. Arsenal scored their 33rd goal from a corner since the start of the 2023/24 campaign. Timber, flicked on a Declan Rice delivery to give Arsenal a much needed goal. Soon it was 2-0 after Bukayo Saka rifled a shot past Lucas Perri. Arsenal went into half time with a two goal lead. But we needed our start striker to get off the mark and we didn’t wait long in the second half.
Gyokeres opened his Premier League account in trademark fashion. Run into space on the left, cut inside and shoot. It was a goal Arsenal fans had watched so many times on comps as they’re known on Twitter. It was the goal they said he’d never score in the Premier League, that he won’t get that space in the most transitional league in the world. The irony in that is laughable. The crowd erupted, the mask celebration had landed at the Emirates and it felt better than you could have imagined. Gyokeres even had time to throw jibes at social media trolls for his hair flicks. He went on to score another goal from the spot. Let it all work out as they say at the Emirates and work out it did.
Sunday’s clash versus Liverpool will offer an insight into how Gyokeres copes when the lights are brightest. Arsenal are winless at Anfield since 2012, despite a decent record in the last six Premier League games against the Reds (D4L2). It is about time the Gunners won away from home against fellow title contenders. And they need their talismanic striker to show up.
Arsenal adapting to Gyokeres
Arsenal are certainly making an effort to adapt to playing with Gyokeres. His standout ability is his willingness to make runs into space. Calafiori plays an inch perfect no look pass into space which the Swede turns into a goal. But it feels like for every five runs he makes, the ball is played through only once. The Arsenal fans can be heard letting out audible moans anytime he makes a good run into space and the pass doesn’t come. Against Leeds, for example, Nwaneri drives with the ball through the middle but hesitates to thread a pass and instead goes for a shot that goes wide.
According to Opta, Viktor Gyokeres scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal with what was only his second shot in the competition. And that right there is a slight concern. Gyokeres is a high volume shooter, he needs to be put in positions where he can get shots off. He averaged 3.53 shots a game at Sporting as shown by footystats. Arsenal, on the other hand are a shot shy team, especially last season. They ranked 8th in terms of shots taken in the Premier League in 2024/25, a whole 100 shots behind Liverpool.
Mikel Arteta rightfully identified that as an area of weakness and sought to address it via the signings of Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze. The next step is to put these players in positions where they can shoot more especially, Gyokeres as his game model is based on consistently getting shots off. Arsenal have to be quicker and braver with Gyokeres.
Learning from mistakes made against Man United
The clash at Anfield will be a fascinating watch to see how Gyokeres imposes himself against defenders who can match his physicality and pace in Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. Much of Gyokeres’ success in Liga NOS was due to his capacity to bully his way through defences. Gyokeres loves pulling off to the left and running towards goal while Konate excels in defending the channels due to his pace and power, this should be a fascinating duel to watch.
What Arsenal have to avoid is playing a game that will not suit their star man. Case in point, Man United vs Arsenal in the opening game of the season. One of the weaknesses highlighted that day was that Gyokeres is not a target man despite his physical gifts. The Swede struggled against De Ligt. He lost five out of six aerial duels and five of his seven ground duels according to FotMob. He will not win a header, control the ball and lay it off to his teammate like Havertz especially against Van Dijk.
Gyokeres isn’t the most graceful of footballers. His touch isn’t the greatest, he won’t leave you in awe nor will he nutmeg and dribble past two or three players and stick it in the top corner. He will have a bad touch, lose an aerial duel, overran some balls but what he will give you is ball striking, a lot of running and goals in abundance.
That’s the task facing Gyokeres and Arsenal on Sunday. Make the game suit you and take home the three points. There is no greater stage at this moment in time to announce your arrival and stake your claim to a seat on the high table than a high profile fixture at Anfield against the defending champions. This is your litmus test, Viktor Gyokeres.