It was the signing that was supposed to complete the Arsenal jigsaw, a striker capable of scoring 20-plus goals a season, a finisher who would help end the North London club’s torturous wait for silverware.
The stats of Viktor Gyokeres at previous club Sporting were impressive; 97 goals in 102 games over two seasons that resulted in consecutive Primeira Liga crowns under the stewardship of Ruben Amorim.
The arrival of Gyokeres (for a reported €73.5m) – plus midfield anchorman Martin Zubimendi (€65m from Real Sociedad) – at the Emirates Stadium would mean manager Mikel Arteta had his own version of Rodri and Erling Haaland at his disposal. And a squad ready to claim the club’s first Premier League title since 2004, after three second-place finishes in a row.
On Saturday, Arsenal swept aside Fulham 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium – which lifted them six points clear of Manchester City, albeit having played two games more – with Gyokeres grabbing a double for his 20th and 21st goal of the season across competitions.
That made him the first to score more than 20 goals for the Gunners since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang six years ago, and first since Alexis Sanchez in 2014/15 to score 20-plus in his debut season at the club.
Despite question marks against the hold-up and link-up play, the 27-year-old Swede’s goal stats cannot be argued with and, after scoring from the spot in last week’s 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid, Gyokeres is finding the back of the net when it really matters.
“I think in Madrid, especially the first half, he was really good, and today, all the minutes that he’s played as well, his contribution with the goals,” said Arteta, who made the bold call to leave out Zubimendi for the more attack-minded Myles Lewis-Skelly at the weekend.
“Every attacking action he was involved – scored two great goals. Position-wise, timing-wise as well – it’s something that we’ve been working on. It’s going to give him a big boost of energy to him and confidence to the team as well.”
An arguably even bigger boost for the Gunners was Bukayo Saka’s return to the starting XI for the first time since March following an Achilles injury, in what has been an underwhelming campaign for the England winger, who has struggled for fitness and form.
Saka would provide the assist for Gyokeres’ opener before curling home a brilliant second goal himself, making it five seasons on the spin the 24-year-old has reached double figures for goals.
“The pain from his injury is gone. Today he felt loose, he felt relaxed, and I think we had the Bukayo that we know back,” said Arteta, who took off Saka at half-time against Fulham as Arsenal look to manage the player’s workload.
“He’s come back in the most important period of the season, and now he’s fresh, his mind is fresh, his hunger is at the highest possible height and I think he needed a performance like that to impact the team.”
Next up is Tuesday’s Uefa Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico, with the Spanish side hoping that their own main striker will be available for selection at the Emirates Stadium.
Julian Alvarez cut an impressive figure in the Spanish capital last week, scoring from the spot but would come close to scoring a hat-trick, with Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya denying him with a fine first-half save while also sending a free-kick just wide of the target after the break.
But the Argentine World Cup-winner limped off in the second half at the Metropolitano Stadium with a thigh problem and missed Atletico’s 2-0 La Liga win away to Valencia on Saturday.
Alvarez – signed from Manchester City in a deal worth a reported €95m in 2024 – was named in Atletico’s squad for the game in London, along with fellow injury concerns Guiliano Simeone and Alexander Sorloth.
The 26-year-old’s form this season has caught the eye of some of Europe’s big guns, with only Kylian Mbappe (15) and Harry Kane (12) having scored more Champions League goals than Alvarez’s 10. He has also reached the 20-goal mark for a second campaign in a row.
“I’m not inside Julian Alvarez’s head,” said Atleti manager Diego Simeone when asked last week about reports linking his star striker with a move away from the club.
“It’s normal that an extraordinary player like Julian Alvarez is wanted by Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona. It’s normal because he’s very good.”
When asked in March about his links to Barcelona, Alvarez admitted he was unsure if he would still be at Atletico next season: “I couldn’t tell you; maybe yes, maybe no, you never know. I’m very grateful to Atletico – the fans show me they love me, and I’m very happy here.”
When pressed again last week about the speculation, he played down rumours of his imminent exit. “I try not to give too much importance to what people say, because the truth is that every week, new things appear, all kinds of information,” he said.
“I prefer not to waste energy on that and to focus on what we are doing here at Atleti … I can’t go out and clarify or deny everything that gets published, because it ends up being a snowball of lies.”
Simeone’s side are currently fourth in La Liga and are firmly on course to secure a 14th consecutive season of Champions League football, but have not lifted a trophy since winning La Liga in 2021.
And they will need Alvarez fit and firing on all cylinders if they want to keep alive their dreams of a first European Cup.
