Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has endured a slow start to the season and is firmly at risk of being completely forgotten about

When Viktor Gyokeres slammed home his fourth Sweden goal in as many games, it seemed inevitable he would start Arsenal's next Premier League clash against Leeds United, particularly after Kai Havertz suffered an injury, but he was once again on the bench.

Despite suffering a hamstring issue in action for Germany, Havertz was deployed from the off for last Saturday's clash at the Emirates Stadium. Having picked up the problem early into the extended international break, Havertz was at least back training to some capacity at London Colney while Gyokeres was away with his country.

During that three-week period, he scored in all of Sweden's Nations League games and was a striker playing with freedom and confidence when wearing yellow. In red, however, he helplessly chases lost balls while barely getting a touch.

In his 59 minutes of Premier League football this season, he has yet to touch the ball inside the opposition's penalty box, and he has also won just 8 of 28 duels in all competitions. The majority of those have come in starts against Ipswich, Napoli and Lille, with his display against the latter coming earlier this week and drawing criticism.

When coming off the bench, it is usually at a time when the Gunners are either in front or, in the case of their visit to Brighton, already well-beaten. Facing a physical Leeds United back three appeared as the perfect game for Gyokeres, but Arteta still opted for Havertz

It is worth noting that he was being readied to come on before Arsenal equalised, and while he certainly did some dirty work to help his side eventually take the lead, including creating two chances and making three ball recoveries, he never really looked like scoring and appears to be totally bereft of confidence.

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On the other hand, he is a constant threat under Graham Potter with the whole Sweden model catered to getting the best out of him and Alexander Isak. Maybe playing in a two with Havertz would help, but that is highly unlikely to ever happen in north London.

Gyokeres is quite clearly not viewed as an important player by Arteta, and that does not look likely to ever change. He was supposed to be the big signing that took Arsenal to the title, and while they did finally claim domestic silverware, he was not the game-changer.

A strong end to last season seemed to suggest that Gyokeres could become the undisputed No.1, but interest in Julian Alvarez and Arteta's love for a fully fit Havertz has seen him go back down the pecking order.

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Given the style change in the Premier League over the last 12 months, Gyokeres looked to be a perfect fit for a more physical game. Though often described as a battering ram that is perhaps not silky on the eye but effective, his technical limitations have been exposed.

It is quite clear, however, that he is a goal-scoring centre-forward when given the opportunities to thrive, but Arsenal is just not the right place for him. Much has been said about the need to sign Premier League proven players, and while that has been disproven in some cases, it could not be more apparent here.

For one of the best teams in the country and in a system made for him, the 28-year-old scored 68 goals from 66 Primeira Liga appearances for Sporting CP. Out of 39 Premier League games, he has found the back of the net 14 times.

With some of those as a substitute, that works out at 0.55 goals per 90 minutes, and while quite the drop-off in goals, given the differing standards between the two divisions, it is only just lower than what would be expected.

Former Liverpool director of research Ian Graham took a look at exactly this on the Men in Blazers podcast in 2025. He stated the expectation would be that there is a 35 per cent drop-off in output, but that did not factor in the standard of Sporting in comparison to the remainder of the league.

There is not a specific figure for exactly this scenario, but it can be assumed that it would be a 40 per cent "tax" and that should place Gyokeres at 0.64 goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League, having managed 1.07 goals per 90 minutes in Portugal.

While many view Gyokeres as a failed signing, he is only just below what should be expected of him, which is 0.55 goals per 90 minutes. Having only been at the club for just over 12 months, a final assessment cannot be given just yet.

However, if he does continue at the current rate, a very different conversation may be on the agenda in May. The former Coventry and Brighton striker still has time to turn it around, but based on current evidence, it does seem inevitable that he will leave the club within one of those next two summer windows and be classed as a flop.