Is Viktor Gyökeres Making Arsenal Better Despite His Low Goal Numbers?

After three consecutive second-place finishes, Arsenal went all in during the summer transfer window. The objective was unmistakable: don’t let another opportunity to end the Premier League title drought slip away. Manager Mikel Arteta finally addressed the persistent calls from supporters and pundits alike by signing a proven goalscorer.

The club spent £64 million on Viktor Gyökeres, the Swedish striker who terrorized defenses in Portugal’s Primeira Liga. The natural finisher was meant to be the missing puzzle piece—the 20-goal-per-season forward that could transform Arsenal from perennial runners-up into champions.

Yet here we stand, halfway through the campaign, and the narrative surrounding Gyökeres couldn’t be more complicated. Arsenal sits comfortably at the Premier League summit with a commanding six-point advantage, and Gyökeres is their leading scorer with five goals. On paper, the transfer appears successful. But anyone watching the matches has witnessed a striker who looks anything but comfortable in English football’s top flight.

The Criticism Mounts

Viktor Gyökeres hasn’t set the Premier League alight with spectacular performances. His contributions often go unnoticed, with many matches seemingly passing him by entirely. The statistics paint a picture of a player struggling to impose himself at this elevated level of competition.

The Swedish international has managed no more than 32 touches in any of his 18 league appearances. Even more concerning, he’s recorded fewer than 25 touches in 15 of those matches—a remarkably low number for a team’s primary striker. On six separate occasions, he failed to register a single shot, while managing just one attempt in four other games.

His finishing has also drawn scrutiny. When opportunities arise, Gyökeres tends to rely on power rather than precision, seemingly giving little consideration to how he might actually beat the opposition goalkeeper. Two of his five goals came from the penalty spot. Excluding penalties, he’s generated just 4.8 expected goals (xG) throughout the entire season—a rate of 0.35 non-penalty xG per 90 minutes.

For Arsenal supporters who hoped he would replicate the remarkable scoring rate he achieved at Sporting CP, watching him play has been largely frustrating.

Arteta’s Unwavering Support

Despite the mounting criticism, Mikel Arteta has consistently defended his marquee signing. The manager has repeatedly insisted that Gyökeres brings invaluable contributions to the team that extend far beyond the scoresheet.

“He brings so much to the team,” Arteta stated in October. “All of us appreciate him because he makes us much better. I think we’ve become much more unpredictable. He’s so physical, opens the spaces for everyone. The way he presses the ball, holds the ball, it’s just phenomenal.”

The Arsenal boss hasn’t just voiced support—he’s demonstrated it through team selection. Gyökeres started each of the club’s first 10 Premier League matches. Following a brief period on the sidelines, he’s now started the last five consecutive matches, despite scoring just once during that stretch—a penalty in the narrow 1-0 victory at Everton.

The Hidden Impact

While Gyökeres may not be filling the net with regularity, deeper analysis reveals that his contributions extend well beyond traditional scoring metrics. His role in Arsenal’s recent five-match winning streak provides compelling evidence.

During the crucial 2-1 victory against Bournemouth, Gyökeres played an instrumental part in the decisive goal. After chasing and battling for Gabriel Martinelli’s flick-on, he attracted five defenders toward the ball before intelligently laying it off to Martin Ødegaard, who then found Declan Rice for the goal that secured Arsenal’s six-point lead at the summit.

Declan Rice was effusive in his praise following that match: “It’s tough for him because defenders are so tight on him, and there’s no space for him at all. All the boys are with him because of what he is doing for us, even though he hasn’t scored, how he is helping us as a team to press, hold the ball up. Without him making that run and holding it, setting it off to Martin, that goal wouldn’t happen.”

Statistical Evidence of Contribution

Off-Ball Movement

Viktor Gyökeres excels in areas that don’t always capture headlines but are crucial to Arsenal’s attacking patterns:

These numbers are particularly significant given that Arsenal has scored more goals within 10 seconds of a cross than any other Premier League team this season (18 goals).

Expected Threat (xT) Added

Using expected threat metrics—which calculate the likelihood of a shot occurring within 10 seconds based on ball position—Gyökeres ranks impressively:

• xT added per 90 from runs in behind: 0.60 (3rd in Premier League)
• Only Bryan Mbeumo (0.71) and Evanilson (0.65) rank higher
• For total xT added, only those two players plus Erling Haaland surpass him

This suggests his relentless movement significantly increases Arsenal’s attacking threat, even when he doesn’t touch the ball.

Defensive Work Rate

Gyökeres applies pressure across all areas of the pitch, making Arsenal exceptionally difficult to break down. It was perhaps no coincidence that Wolves scored their late equalizer at the Emirates after Gyökeres had been withdrawn—a moment that saw Arteta express disappointment with how “passive” his players had become.

The Title Race Context

The timing of Gyökeres’ contributions cannot be overlooked. Two seasons ago, when Arsenal ultimately fell two points short of Manchester City, their title challenge collapsed during the Christmas period. They managed just one point from four matches, including damaging defeats to Fulham and West Ham.

This season, Arsenal has accelerated through that same treacherous period. They’ve claimed five consecutive victories, albeit while not always displaying their most scintillating football. They stumbled past Everton and Wolves, and found themselves clinging on against both Brighton and Bournemouth. But crucially, they won all five matches.

Combined with Manchester City’s struggles, this run has propelled Arsenal to a commanding six-point advantage. The Opta supercomputer now rates their title chances at a colossal 86.2%. Historical data supports this optimism: two-thirds of teams with such a substantial lead after 20 matches have gone on to claim the championship.

The Injury Insurance Policy

Beyond his on-field contributions, Gyökeres has provided something else invaluable: availability. With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus spending significant portions of the campaign sidelined through injury, the Swedish striker’s presence has been essential.

Havertz, who many felt didn’t score enough goals last season for Arsenal to win the title, could return for the upcoming clash against Liverpool. This presents an interesting selection dilemma for Arteta. However, recent results with Gyökeres leading the line suggest the manager has found a formula that works.

Teammate Testimonials

Rice remained emphatic in his assessment after the Bournemouth victory: “Trust me, he’s doing unbelievably for us. We wouldn’t be where we are without him. I think good things are going to come.”

Such unequivocal support from teammates carries significant weight. The dressing room clearly appreciates what Gyökeres brings, even when casual observers struggle to see his value.

Redefining Success

How should success be measured for Viktor Gyökeres? If he finishes the campaign with just five goals but Arsenal lifts the Premier League trophy, would he be considered a failure? Absolutely not.

The Swedish striker came to England with the expectation of solving Arsenal’s goalscoring issues. Instead, he’s helped the team succeed without consistently finding the net himself. Perhaps that reveals a fundamental truth: maybe a traditional 20-goal striker was never truly the final piece in the puzzle.

Arsenal appears to have become a better team not because Gyökeres scores prolifically, but because he enables others to thrive. His movement creates space, his pressing forces errors, and his physical presence occupies defenders. These contributions don’t appear prominently in highlight reels, but they’re woven into the fabric of a team on the brink of ending a two-decade title wait.

Mikel Arteta’s faith in Viktor Gyökeres is being vindicated not through spectacular individual performances, but through collective success. As Arsenal marches toward what increasingly looks like an inevitable title triumph, the narrative around their summer signing may need significant revision.

The question isn’t whether Arsenal is better with Viktor Gyökeres—the league table answers that emphatically. The real question is whether football’s obsession with goals-per-season statistics has blinded us to the myriad ways a striker can elevate a team. Based on where Arsenal currently stands, perhaps it has.

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