Arsenal are realizing an interesting Viktor Gyokeres paradox

With each passing week, Arsenal grow stronger, and although there are still plenty of mainstream pundits who are stuck on the whole “Hur durr, Arsenal are bottlers, durr” schtick, the harsh reality for the rest of the Premier League is that the Gunners are running away with the league lead at this point and look much more resilient than they were in the consecutive years they came second.

It is all starting to click for Mikel Arteta and his men, and last season’s Champions League semifinalists are dominating the European competition this season, too, fresh off a 3-1 demolition of Serie A title favorites Inter Milan.

And in that game, the striker tandem of Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres shone brightly again, with the latter scoring a banger outside of the box to now make it three goals in four starts and five total appearances in the 2025/26 Champions League campaign for the Gunners.

Viktor Gyokeres is ready for the big games

Juxtapose Gyokeres’s Champions League production with his meager return of 5 goals in 20 Premier League appearances, and Arsenal fans are realizing that Gyokeres is a much stronger player in European competition.

Some players are like that, and with the goal and overall performance against Inter Milan in mind, it is hard to say that it is a case of the Swedish international simply beating up on weaker competition.

As Manchester City can attest with their recent upset defeat, it is obvious that even the so called lesser teams in the Champions League are threats to the giants of European football.

Arsenal have been criticized by rival fan bases often this season for how much they spent on Gyokeres and the lack of a return on Premier League production, but the Champions League production paints an entirely different picture.

Gyokeres’s goal from beyond the pale will hopefully give the former Sporting CP star, who once bagged a Champions League hat trick on the heads of Manchester City last season, the confidence to return to his elite play from the 2024/25 season.

Even beyond the goals, Gyokeres has been solid all around up top as a physical presence in these Champions League fixtures, too, doubling his 0.9 fouls drawn per game in the Premier League to an average of 1.8 in the Champions League.

Arsenal have Jesus to do the dribbling and creating, so the real key with Gyokeres is making sure he is the big body up top holding off defenders and, most importantly, scoring. The Gunners are realizing that Gyokeres is a Champions League monster, and that might be good enough.