(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Wed 29 April 2026 18:45, UK

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Viktor Gyokeres is preventing Arsenal from reaching their true potential as a team with his underperformance this season.

Mikel Arteta’s side had looked on course to secure an unprecedented quadruple a few weeks ago, but they are now down to just the Premier League and the Champions League, with the former looking increasingly unlikely.

The Gunners have transformed themselves into one of Europe’s most dangerous teams in recent years, but they have so far been unable to get themselves over the line and claim one of the top prizes.

They splashed an initial fee of £55million on Gyokeres last summer to help them achieve that, but his impact has arguably had the opposite effect so far this term.

Arsenal’s transfer plans are already taking shape for the summer, and they will surely have to consider replacing the Swede after this reveal.

Viktor Gyokeres leads Champions League for unwanted stat

Arsenal have been chasing a top-level striker to elevate their team for years, and that was the intention behind their move to sign Gyokeres from Sporting CP.

His 12 goals currently stand him as their leading goalscorer in league action so far this term, but he has failed to hit the same heights in the Champions League.

The 27-year-old’s tally of just four goals so far is seeing him underperform his xG at the moment, and WhoScored have just revealed another concerning figure via their X account.

They confirmed ahead of Arsenal’s semi-final first leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday that Gyokeres has missed more big chances than any other player in the competition this season, with his tally sitting at 10 ahead of the semi-final.

His conversion rate also drops by almost 10 per cent when it comes to European action, while he is missing over one big chance per every 90 minutes.

That should tell Arteta everything he needs to know about the frontman’s capabilities long-term, as he lacks what it takes to be a dangerous player at the very elite level, but is capable of causing problems domestically against weaker sides.

If Arsenal fail to secure one of the two biggest titles again this season, then they will have some ruthless decisions to make this summer, and finding a superior replacement for Gyokeres should become a priority.

Arsenal told to ‘spend big’ on striker this summer amid ‘major concern’

Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider back in February that Arsenal must “spend big” on another new striker if they truly want to hit the next level as a team.

The former recruitment boss noted that Gabriel Jesus starting games for a title-challenging side should be seen as a “major concern,” while he also added that Gyokeres’ form has left a lot to be desired.

Brown suggested that the North Londoners do not have any “regular goalscorers” compared to the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero, who have both fired their teams to league titles in recent years.

He also acknowledged that Arsenal are “relying on their defence” to take them to silverware, which can provide major issues if their solidity slips even a small amount.

With that in mind, they simply must find a way to get more goals into their team this summer, and the obvious way of doing that is by replacing Gyokeres.