It’s a testament to the strength of Arsenal’s season that they made it until January before being accused of a ‘wobble’.
The 2-3 defeat against Manchester United was hurtful, but the context – the Red Devils scored via an individual error by Martin Zubimendi and two world-class long-range strikes – should not be lost.
It was a game, though, that raised another argument about who the Gunners’ best frontman is. Gabriel Jesus was given the nod, but was largely redundant throughout – his replacement, Viktor Gyokeres, fared little better.
So is the most effective of Arsenal’s strikers? And can they fire the Londoners to a long overdue Premier League title?
Those who bet on English Premier League online markets have been left unfazed by Arsenal’s January loss, with Mikel Arteta’s men still a comfortable 4/11 favourite for the title.
Pundits crafting their football tips will be quick to remind readers of the Gunners’ ‘second-itis’, given that they’ve finished runner-up in each of the last three Premier League seasons.
And they will perhaps need to up their productivity in front of goal, to match the excellent standards set by their defence, if they are to end that unwanted run.
Gyokeres was signed from Sporting Lisbon for an initial £55 million in the summer of 2025, but his EPL goal return of five in 17 starts is not what you’d expect from a striker who has been prolific elsewhere in his career.
The Swede has underperformed his xG of 6.95, which suggests that his finishing has been somewhat lacking so far in 2025/26.
But Gyokeres does still bring plenty to the table, with a key pass rate per 90 minutes of 0.5, while he’s fouled 0.9 times per 90 minutes, on average, which helps to get Arsenal higher up the pitch and win a set-piece situation – from which they have routinely been deadly.
It’s true that he needs to be sharper in front of goal, but the 27-year-old scored 54 goals for club and country in 2024/25, so there’s certainly scope for him to progress to his mean level and contribute more to an Arsenal side that ranks a surprisingly low fourth for xG created this term.
It’s hard to get a handle on where Gabriel Jesus’ career is right now, given his spate of long-term injuries.
A knee ligament tear effectively wiped out his entire 2025, while knee and hamstring injuries in 2023/24 prevented the Brazilian from really getting a good run in the Arsenal starting eleven.
Arteta will know that he needs to wrap Jesus in metaphorical cotton wool, but if he can keep the 28-year-old fit, he has a player capable of adding a different dimension to Arsenal’s frontline.
Which is all well and good… but can Gabriel score more goals than Gyokeres?
That is the golden question, as the Brazilian has only reached double figures for goals once since the 2019/20 campaign.
But in 400 minutes of play this term, he’s netted three times already in all competitions, whilst providing a higher xG count per 90 minutes than Gyokeres.
It’s only a small sample, but could the next few months be where Gabriel Jesus cements himself as an Arsenal legend?
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