Viktor Gyokeres started up front last night as Arsenal beat Lille 3-0 in the Champions League.

The Swede arrived back at the club in good shape, too, having scored four goals in four games for his country during the international break. The hope was that he could bring that form and confidence back to Arsenal with him, but it was another frustrating performance in red and white.

Gyokeres was replaced by Kai Havertz at the 65-minute mark after failing to register a single shot on target. That is now 62 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions, with no shots on target in 40 of them — roughly 65% of the games he has played for the club.

That’s a huge concern, whichever way you spin it. Gyokeres isn’t missing chances; he isn’t getting into positions to have them in the first place, which is a far bigger issue, and a much harder one to fix.

Against Lille, he was kept quiet by Alexsandro and Nathan Ngoy all evening, and a mistimed jump for a header just before half-time drew groans from the Emirates crowd.

FULL TIME

Arsenal get the job done and beat Lille 3-0! What did you make of that performance? 👀

Of course, the £64million signing from Sporting CP in the summer of 2025 has scored 21 goals in those 62 games, so this isn’t a player who has never delivered. However, his last goal came on May 2, when he scored twice against Fulham during the Premier League title run-in. He has played 12 games for Arsenal since then without scoring.

Viktor Gyokeres doesn’t suit the way Arsenal are playing

Perhaps the most telling thing is what happened after he came off. Arsenal’s attack moved into a different gear once Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were introduced, and all three goals arrived in the final half-hour.

The trio seem to have a telepathic understanding of each other on the field, and that chemistry is exactly what Gyokeres hasn’t found. Havertz is simply better suited to those quick exchanges around the box, and his teammates appear unable to find the Swede’s wavelength.

Next up for Arsenal, it’s a trip to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday. Gyokeres is likely to return to the bench and on this evidence, it is hard to argue otherwise.