Viktor Gyokeres set for Arsenal demotion - but that's no bad thing | OneFootball

Gabriel Jesus outshone his team-mate in a 30-minute cameo off the bench after 11 months out

Viktor Gyokeres has not had an easy start to life at Arsenal.

Gyokeres started 13 of Arsenal’s first 15 games of the season and - just when he got up to speed - injured his hamstring.

The Swede had begun to silence his doubters before that injury during Arsenal’s win at Burnley last month, but now they are back.

The Swede completed just four passes and had only one shot on target before coming off just after the hour mark.

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In contrast, Gabriel Jesus - who replaced Gyokeres as he made his first appearance since January - completed 14 passes and had two shots on target in his 30-minute cameo. The Brazilian also hit the crossbar.

Jesus’ performance has increased the scrutiny on Gyokeres, but Mikel Arteta is convinced the Swede can handle it and believes he will “explode” soon.

“I think he was in a great place [before the injury],” said Arteta. “I think it took him a while at the beginning because it’s a different league, different demands.

“He had no pre-season, and now he’s starting to get some momentum. The goals will come and we’re going to be very pleased with him.”

Arteta and Gyokeres will hope that flow of goals starts tonight against Wolves.

Given Wolves are rock bottom of the Premier League and without a win all season, it feels like an ideal game for Gyokeres to get back on the scoresheet.

So, the question is: when does Arteta use Gyokeres? The answer appears to be in games like this

The dynamic has shifted since he returned from injury. Before then, the Swede was the sole No9 and the burden for goals was squarely on his shoulders.

Now, though, there is genuine competition up front - as shown by Jesus in Brugge. Mikel Merino is another option for Arteta and Havertz will be, too, in a few weeks.

The ideal thing for Arteta is that they are all very different strikers and, as such, he can use a horses-for-courses approach.

In the summer, it felt like Gyokeres had been signed with a view to him being the No9 to fire Arsenal to the title. Now, it increasingly feels like he will have a role to play - rather than being the protagonist.

That is not a bad position for Arteta to be in and, for all the talk of an injury crisis, being able to pick from Gyokeres, Havertz, Jesus and Merino each week will be a luxury few other managers have.

“I think we have very strong personnel,” said Arteta. “That position is how we field them together at the same time, which is very difficult in terms of the context of the game, but I am very happy with the players we have.

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“So far, over six months of the competition, we have not had more than two of them (the strikers) at the same time. Hopefully we will be in that position.”

So, the question is: when does Arteta use Gyokeres? The answer appears to be in games like this one against Wolves.

All five of Gyokeres’ Premier League goals have come against teams in the bottom five, while he has struggled against the top sides.

It would be unfair to call the Swede a flat-track bully, but Arsenal having a player who can put the conventionally weaker sides to the sword would be useful for Arteta.

The Gunners have recently done well against the ‘Big Six’ under Arteta and their struggles have come against other teams.

Indeed, last season in the league, Arsenal dropped 18 points at home - and 14 of those were to sides that finished out of the European places.

Gyokeres could be the player to change that and he has made a good start by scoring against Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Leeds.

Adding Wolves to that list would strengthen his credentials and underline how his role this season could be different to what many first imagined it would be.