When a player is as under the microscope as Viktor Gyokeres has been, it can occasionally be hard to see the bigger picture. Halfway through his first season at Arsenal it would be hard to declare the 27-year-old an unmitigated success, but with four goals in his last six games, are there now signs that Gyokeres might begin to live up to the expectations that followed his $87 million move from Sporting?
If you were to make the case that yes there are, you would probably start with the first leg of the EFL Cup semifinal against Chelsea, which concludes on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium. In that match Gyokeres was outstanding, a powerful runner in the channels and poacher around the penalty area, turning home one goal at close range and then providing the assist for Martin Zubimendi. Since then, the goals have flowed in a way they were just threatening to when he picked up an injury against Burnley in early November.
Inter were downed by a Gyokeres howitzer and then came a couple more against Kairat Almaty and Leeds, the latter another of those close range finishes that weren’t coming often enough in the early months at Arsenal. There are caveats to that. Gyokeres had no great success in the goalless draw against Nottingham Forest and the xG he built up against Kairat was hardly converted in resounding fashion. Take a view beyond this recent good stretch and it is still 11 goals in 30 games, two of them penalties. That might be enough to lead his club’s scoring charts but does that say more about Arsenal than it does Gyokeres? If he is improving, well a 10 game rolling xG average of his performances is just barely beginning to pick it up.
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Ultimately the person whose opinion matters most sees signs of progress where Gyokeres is concerned. “It’s all around play and performances [where he’s improving],” said Mikel Arteta. “He’s been much more consistent in actions and consecutive actions, especially. His defending inputs have been terrific from the beginning.
“Attacking-wise, understanding his movements, the timings of his runs, and the presence and movements of the boys has been much better. And he’s been more prolific, certainly, in front of goal to help us to win more games.”
Those comments on Gyokeres’ movement are significant given that for so long it seemed that a major issue was the Swede’s flat-footedness in the box was a real problem for Arsenal. Indeed, in the game before this scoring streak I wrote that his inability to get on the many cutbacks that his team mates have been creating this season was hampering the Gunners’ attacks. A good run is not quite enough to demand a full and frank apology, but you couldn’t argue Gyokeres and his team mates were out of sync when he timed his run perfectly to meet Gabriel Martinelli’s cross for the third against Leeds. Even if he failed to get clear of a defender for a chance earlier on, he was at least in sync with Leandro Trossard.
Of late, Gyokeres is scoring the scrappy goals that Arsenal seemed to be missing before his arrival — the ones where a defender is hauling him to the deck and he still gets a shin on it. or the spill from a goalkeeper that drops in his path. Like all true strikers, he knows that they count for just as much as smashing the ball in from range at the San Siro.
Appearing on Morning Footy on CBS Sports’ Golazo Network, Gyokeres was asked what his dream goal looked like. He didn’t quite deliver the old line about the next one being the best one, but it’s clear he has no particular favorites. “It changes. It depends on what kind of goals you have scored recently and that kind of thing.
“When you do something extraordinary that’s what you want to do on the pitch. I love tap ins as well. As a striker it’s almost the same feeling even if it’s a tap in.”
Arteta too is not that bothered about style points. “Goals are goals. I know that we prefer the beautiful ones on YouTube but they are all very important and the ones we scored recently are very much the same.”
It was the sheer weight of goals scored for Sporting that earned Gyokeres the move back to England, where he had struggled at Brighton but excelled in the second tier with Coventry. Few would have expected him to repeat the scoring exploits of his two years in Portugal, but as the man himself noted, it took time for him to find his feet in Portugal, although his version of a slow start was two in his first four games for Sporting and 95 in the next 98.
“I’ve enjoyed it since I came here,” said Gyokeres. “It’s been challenging at times, but I’ve been improving a lot, try to learn as much as possible with the team and in the club. I’ve been enjoying it, but of course it’s been a challenge.
“It was the same when I moved to Portugal, it didn’t work perfectly from the beginning, there was also a period where I have to adjust to the style and how they want to play. It’s the same thing here. It’s a bit different. You have to adapt and embrace it.
“For me the most important thing is that we win games and that we perform as a team. Of course I want to contribute with what I’m good at when I play, I try to do that as much as possible. There’s still time for me to show that I’m capable of doing even more than I’ve done so far.”
And if Gyokeres is judging himself by how the team performs with him in it, maybe there’s not too much to worry about. The 24 games he has started have delivered 20 wins, three draws and one defeat. With their No.14 leading the line Arsenal average a smidge more non-penalty expected goals, 1.94 as opposed to 1.8 in the 13 games when he doesn’t. They get more shots too and the pro-Gyokeres case has often revolved around the space his running beyond the defense creates for others to operate.
Still it feels like the sample size is too small, too many variables still in play to know just what Gyokeres is. The range of outcomes is narrowing — it’s hard to see a future where he delivers Erling Haaland-esque production is red — but it might take well into year two, after some sort of pre-season and perhaps with the fitness issues receding before it’s really clear what a Gyokeres “capable of doing even more” delivers.
The big picture is not quite big enough just yet. What is clear for now is that it has at least got a bit easier on the eye over the past month. That’s not nothing.
Arsenal vs. Chelsea, EFL Cup viewing information
- Date: Tuesday, Feb. 3 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Emirates Stadium — London
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Arsenal -150; Draw +280; Chelsea +360
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