Arsenal star Viktor Gyokeres primed for unexpected boost amid Premier League title race

Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres could be positively impacted by the injury return of Kai Havertz after his drought in front of goal extended to six matches in all competitions. Gyokeres has scored three times for the Gunners, but his last strike came nearly one month ago.

The Sweden international looked set for an opportunity to find the back of the net from the penalty spot against West Ham this past weekend when Jurrien Timber was hauled to the ground by El Hadji Malick Diouf. However, it was Bukayo Saka took on the responsibilities from 12 yards to score his 100th Premier League goal.

Gyokeres took and scored Arsenal's last spot-kick which came against Leeds United when Saka was off the pitch, but the 24-year-old made it clear he would be taking this one.

"No, when I grabbed the ball I wanted to take it, so that's what my thoughts were in that moment," Saka revealed after the 2-0 victory.

When quizzed on whether he's decided that he'll remain on spot-kicks this season, Saka added: "Erm, we'll keep our conversations in the house for now, I won't say much more!"

As the likes of Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland and Bryan Mbeumo have proven, penalties inflate goal tallies and it could have been a nice confidence boost for Gyokeres. The international break could have therefore arrived at the perfect time with Sweden to play Switzerland and Kosovo over the next six days.

Gyokeres has looked a little bit directionless at points since signing for Arsenal but, similarly to Havertz, his work elsewhere is vital.

While the Germany international is a pressing machine, Gyokeres is capable of occupying multiple members of the opposition which lead to others having space. For Arsenal's opening goal on Saturday, Declan Rice would not have a completely open goal if it wasn't for Gyokeres' run moving Konstantinos Mavropanos out of the way.

In four of Arsenal's last five games, the 27-year-old has played the full 90 minutes and he could oddly benefit from being a substitute withdrawal or even being left on the bench from the start. Havertz is likely to be the only player that is deployed from the off ahead of Gyokeres in big games.

Havertz has missed the last six weeks with a knee injury picked up during the opening day victory vs Manchester United. He underwent a minor procedure to fix the problem and he could be back available for selection after the October international break.

It is unclear for what game he could be back in contention for, but Arteta will be hoping he is fully fit within the next month.

Havertz will provide Arsenal with a very different option up top and less pressure being on Gyokeres could help him begin freely scoring goals. The latter playing every minute in a congested fixture schedule is also unlikely to help with the busiest period starting in late November - until the end of 2026 - where Arsenal will play at least 10 games.

Arsenal are currently favourites for the Premier League title and to remain, as such, Gyokeres will likely need to start scoring again with a return for Havertz potentially helping in a number of ways.

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