Last January, there was total bewilderment that Arsenal didn’t sign a centre-forward.
The Gunners headed into 2025 needing someone new to lead the line, someone to aid Kai Havertz’s cause. When Gabriel Jesus suffered a heartbreaking ACL injury in the FA Cup, those needs were only exacerbated.
So, did the board help Mikel Arteta and sign a new attacker? No, they didn’t. What happened next? Havertz suffered a long-term hamstring injury just after the window closed, of course he did.
Arsenal quickly went from one fully fit centre-forward to none and had to rely on a number of different ways to get over the line. It was admirable that they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League but actually winning a trophy felt like an impossible task when the likes of Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard were leading the line.
They stepped up in the absence of the main strikers but their ceiling is certainly limited.
So, with Andrea Berta at the helm, he knew a centre-forward was needed. The likes of Benjamin Sesko and Ollie Watkins were considered but they eventually ended up with Viktor Gyokeres, who signed in a deal worth £63.5m.
That said, it’s not been plain sailing for the Swede since moving to the Emirates Stadium.
Why Viktor Gyokeres has struggled at Arsenal
While Berta didn’t totally break the bank to bring Gyokeres to Arsenal – his fellow Swede Alexander Isak was sold for £125m – there was still enormous pressure on the striker to succeed.
Arsenal needed goals. It was their big problem last term. No player scored double figures in the league for the first time since the 1923/24 season. Talk about a struggle.
There were extenuating circumstances. Saka and Havertz missed large chunks through injury, as did Jesus. Even before then, however, the feeling was that Arteta needed someone who could score goals, someone who was ruthless.
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So, no better choice than Gyokeres, then? The Sweden international won the Gerd Muller award at the recent Ballon d’Or gala for being the most prolific forward in Europe over the last year.
No one was more clinical than he in 2024/25, scoring 54 times in 50 games for Sporting CP. It’s an astonishing record, but the concern was that he did that in the top-flight of Portuguese football.
Still, Gyokeres had experience of English football and was quite the threat in Coventry City colours. He’s certainly physical enough to stand up to the test of Premier League football too.
In fact, that’s been his best attribute since appearing in north London. He’s as strong as an ox, he’s a battering ram of a centre-forward and he most notably showcased that against Olympiacos in the Champions League a few weeks ago.
Played in behind by Martin Odegaard, Gyokeres swatted two defenders to one side and then was able to get a shot away that hit the post. Gabriel Martinelli turned home the rebound.
Where the 27-year-old has been found wanting is in front of goal. It’s a peculiar case considering how regularly he found the net last term.
Alas, Premier League defenders give you less time; they get tighter to you. That’s something Gyokeres has struggled with.
While he’s getting in the right places, running the channel well and holding the ball up well, he’s taking too long to get his shots away. He needs to be quicker once he does get an opportunity.
As such, he has only scored once in his last 12 games for club and country. In total this term, he has bagged three times in seven Premier League outings, but two of those came in one game, the thrashing of Leeds United.
To cut him some slack, he has had some incredibly difficult fixtures. Old Trafford, Anfield, St James’ Park and the visit of Manchester City is a rough run. In those matches, in particular, he’s looked isolated and has been starved of service.
Jamie Carragher summed it up well earlier in the season after the clash with City. “I was asked before the show ‘is Gyokeres the guy to win them [Arsenal] the title?’ and he’s had a little bit of criticism for his performances in the big games away. He hasn’t had a kick today and he might get criticism again on the back of the game today, but I don’t think in those three games he’s had a chance. They haven’t created a chance for him.”
Carragher continued: “I go back to when people keep saying ‘Arsenal’s problem is finishing’, but it’s not, it’s creating. They don’t create enough … they haven’t created one chance for him.”
So, what won’t help is Odegaard’s recent knee injury, set to be sidelined for a minimum of nine games.
What’s the solution? As Carragher outlines, more creativity is required, but perhaps Arteta could revert to last season’s fix?
Arsenal's Gyokeres solution
While Odegaard’s absence will be a blow to Gyokeres, getting Eberechi Eze close to the hulking forward would be advantageous. He assisted 11 goals last term and created two key passes per game in 2024/25, just 0.1 fewer than Odegaard and 0.3 fewer than Saka.
Yet, might it be time for Arteta to try somebody else up top? Havertz is edging closer to a return from injury but Arsenal have someone bang in form already; Merino.
The Spaniard has cut a divisive figure since trading the Basque Country for Islington, moving from Real Sociedad in the summer of 2024. However, the fact of the matter is that he’s been one of the club’s biggest impact players.
Without him, Arsenal would not have reached the Champions League semi-finals. His heroics after becoming an emergency striker in the back half of last season were one of the most remarkable things we’ve seen during Arteta’s reign.
Central midfield
281
31
Defensive midfield
68
5
Striker
13
6
Attacking midfield
10
2
Centre-back
3
0
Left wing
1
0
Right wing
1
0
It all began at the King Power Stadium. Arsenal were heading towards a 0-0 draw with lowly Leicester City until Merino came off the bench to perform an almighty rescue act, scoring twice late on.
His form in front of goal since then has been nothing short of sensational. Merino scored against Real Madrid at home and took his tally as the leading centre-forward to six goals and three assists in 12 matches.
In total, he found the net on nine occasions last term and he’s started 2025/26 in a similarly rich vein of form.
As outlined by analyst Statman Dave, Merino is typically a midfield “duel monster” but it’s in that area of the pitch where he’s struggled to showcase his best form at Arsenal. At Anfield and against City, Arteta fielded a trio of Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Merino, to which many, including Gary Neville, were left frustrated by.
“He [Arteta] could’ve been more attacking at Anfield and he wasn’t, and he certainly could’ve been more attacking against City and he wasn’t. He’s going to regret this if he doesn’t start to take the handbrake off,” Neville stated.
While Zubimendi and Rice are two of the first names on the team sheet, Merino’s ability to create and dictate was notably criticised. You can’t drop Rice and dropping Zubimendi doesn’t make much sense either.
Thus, the question must be asked. Is Arteta using Merino correctly? A midfielder he may be but his best football in London has come as a striker. That’s where he should play when given minutes.
His form for Spain, in particular, demonstrates why he’s one of the finest finishers, not just at Arsenal but in the whole of Europe.
During the recent international break he played just behind the striker in Spain’s 4-0 win over Bulgaria, but did so impeccably, earning a perfect 10/10 rating courtesy of Sofascore for his display.
He scored twice during that game and took his record in World Cup qualifying to six goals in four games, famously scoring a hat-trick against Turkey last month too. Only Erling Haaland has contributed a higher share of goals for his country during qualification.
This purple patch is no fluke either. We’ve had a big enough sample size to analyse that Merino is a good finisher. Those goals haven’t happened by accident.
So, while Gyokeres still tries to get acquainted with his teammates and find his footing in the Premier League, starting the Spaniard in his place is not the worst idea in the world. He’s certainly in better form than Arsenal’s new number 14.
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