‘Feed the Gyok and he will score!’
It’s fair to say that Viktor Gyokeres’ Arsenal career didn’t get off to the best start. Signed for £63.5m having scored 39 goals and laid on seven assists for Sporting CP last season, the expectation was that the Swede would hit the ground running. Even the best-laid plans go awry.
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Gyokeres scored just four goals in his opening 14 league outings for the Gunners. Three of those came against newly promoted pair Leeds – twice – and Burnley. Many felt he was the worst signing of the season.
Yet to his credit, Gyokeres continued to plug away. Mikel Arteta backed the 27-year-old and now the striker beginning to repay the faith shown by the Spaniard. No team has scored more league goals than Arsenal (56) in the Premier League this season.
Gyokeres finding his feet
After Sunday’s North London Derby win over Tottenham, Gyokeres is their top scorer with 10 league goals to his name. Five of those have come in his last five outings. He’s now scored more competitive goals (8) than any other Premier League player in 2026. Crucially, he put in his most complete league performance of the season when he was needed most.
Arsenal’s title push was dealt a blow last week as they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Wolves. The Gunners now hold just a five-point lead at the top of the table having played a game more than title rivals Manchester City. The scenes at full time suggested signs of a team imploding. One buckling under the pressure.
Arsenal breezed past Spurs
A trip to Spurs could have really derailed their pursuit. The north London side hadn’t played for 10 days ahead of Sunday’s game. In that time, they’d sacked Thomas Frank and hired Igor Tudor. If ever there was a time for New Manager Bounce.
Yet Arsenal kept their heads when they needed to the most. Eberechi Eze put Arteta’s side in front. Randal Kolo Muani responded with a rare league goal and both sides went in at the break level. Spurs, though, had the wind taken out of their sails two minutes into the second half when Gyokeres fired past Guglielmo Vicario.
The turning point came when Kolo Muani had a goal ruled out for an alleged push on Gabriel Magalhaes. In truth, the Brazilian was lucky to still be on the pitch given the coming together between the pair in the first half.
Even so, Arsenal were ruthlessly efficient as they dismantled Tudor’s Tottenham with ease. “It’s always going to be difficult when you get a result like we had at Wolves, but it’s how you handle that, and how you respond to it, and today we showed that it in a good way,” Gyokeres said after the match.
Gyokeres heavily involved in North London Derby
The response, as far as Arsenal are concerned, was perfect. And Gyokeres was at the forefront of everything good at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. Indeed, he managed 41 touches against Spurs, his most in a Premier League match this season. For context, he is averaging 25 touches per 90 in England’s top tier this term.
What’s more, Gyokeres was heavily involved in their attacking build up play. He may have only created one chance, but he attempted 27 passes, at least 10 more than he has managed in a Premier League game this season. Again, this is the same Gyokeres who is averaging 12.5 passes per 90 in the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.
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Admittedly, coming up trumps against the worst injury-hit Spurs side in recent memory doesn’t prove that Gyokeres has finally turned a corner. It’s a more-than promising sign, however.
With the onus on the striker playing selflessly in order to bring Arsenal’s wingers into action, Gyokeres’ performance against Spurs was a clear indication that he’s starting to find his rhythm in the Premier League.
Title race role
“He was outstanding today, I thought. There have been glimmers of it every week but today, I thought he was fantastic,” Arteta said of Gyokeres on Sunday. You’d be hard pressed to find a better performance from the Sweden international in an Arsenal shirt.
It’s hardly a coming of age for Gyokeres. Yet it was a positive sign that Arsenal have finally tapped into the best version of the striker ahead of the run in. With City hot on Arsenal’s heels, this could prove decisive over the coming weeks.
