Viktor Gyökeres was at the heart of one of Arsenal’s best attacking displays of the season at the weekend, scoring twice and grabbing an assist as Mikel Arteta’s side dismantled Fulham 3-0 at the Emirates on Saturday.

The Swede’s opener, a close-range tap-in following excellent work down the right from Bukayo Saka, was his 20th goal in all competitions for Arsenal this term. A header on the stroke of half-time effectively sealed the result and took Gyökeres to 21 goals in his debut campaign.

Having cost £55m in the summer, Gyökeres came in for some criticism for not immediately delivering the goals that seemed to be the last ingredient needed for Arsenal to finally win the Premier League. That criticism has not been entirely unfounded. At times, Gyökeres has looked isolated, struggling to link play as effectively as someone like Kai Havertz, and Arsenal’s forward line has occasionally lacked cohesion with him leading it.

He has also had his share of goal droughts, scoring just three times in his first 11 competitive appearances for the club, before another lean patch between late November and the start of the year that yielded only one goal in 10 games.

But 2026 has proved more fruitful. Gyökeres has scored 14 goals since the start of the year in all competitions, more than any other Premier League player. Across Europe’s top five leagues, only three players have scored more goals this year: Harry Kane (24), Vinicius Junior (16) and Lamine Yamal (15).

It’s worth putting into context what Gyökeres has delivered. He’s the first player to score 20 or more goals in all competitions in his first season at Arsenal since Alexis Sánchez in 2014-15 (25). The only other player to do it in the Premier League era is Thierry Henry in 1999-2000 (26).

Before Sánchez and Henry, Ian Wright was the last to clear the 20-goal mark in his first season, scoring 26 in 1991-92. Across the club’s entire history, Gyökeres is only the 13th player to do it.

Even someone like Robin van Persie – one of Arsenal’s most prolific scorers in the Premier League era – did not achieve this. The Dutchman scored just nine times in his debut season in 2004-05.

Another common criticism of Gyökeres is that a significant share of his goals have been penalties. Three of his 14 Premier League goals have come from the spot (21.4%). Sure, that’s a higher proportion than Erling Haaland (12.5%), but it’s lower than Igor Thiago (36.4%) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (25%), both of whom are having excellent campaigns in front of goal.

What’s more – and this isn’t to suggest Gyökeres is operating at their level – but Kane (30% of his goals this season from penalties) and Kylian Mbappé (29%) are also deadly from 12 yards. Good finishers score penalties. Being reliable from the spot is also a valuable asset. Gyökeres’ effort against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first leg last week was his 27th consecutive successfully converted penalty, which shows he has the nerve to deliver in high-pressure moments.

It’s also worth remembering that Gyökeres was not only signed for his ability to find the net, but for the space he creates for those around him. His powerful running behind opposition defences was on full display against Fulham, with sharp movement into the channels complemented by some refined centre-forward play in the build-up to Saka’s goal.

Rightly or wrongly, though, he will be judged on his goals, which have helped earn Arsenal a six-point lead at the summit in the Premier League. How many more he can add across their remaining three games may well decide where the Premier League and Champions League trophies reside come the end of the month.

This is an article by Opta Analyst