Why Viktor Gyokeres vs Kai Havertz debate is unfair as Arsenal scrutiny reaches new level

Viktor Gyokeres is facing increasing scrutiny from critics as question over Kai Havertz patience emerges

The Arsenal striker discussion has reached a new peak of interest in the wake of Viktor Gyokeres’ fifth appearance without a goal since returning from injury, where he missed two Premier League and two Champions League matches. The Swede - who arrived with plenty of hype - has amassed his fair share of scrutiny, but to some, this criticism is already too much.

One argument being levelled is that the patience that Kai Havertz was suggested to have been afforded is not being applied to Gyokeres. Therefore, it is worthwhile to delve into this intriguing debate and explore the reasons behind the differing perceptions of both.

Starting with Arteta, he has been very supportive of the Swede whenever questioned. football.london asked the Spaniard before the game with Wolves whether it is more about the player needing to adapt to the club or the other way around. Arteta, while citing his belief that there are elements of both coming together, backed the player wholeheartedly.

“I think the two things have to merge. I think we have to put the player in the best possible condition to explode and fulfil his potential. And there are certain things that within the role, in the manner that we play, has to be fulfilled.

“And that's a combination of both. And then it's not only that. I think more important is the connections and the players around him at the end.

“Those interactions, that understanding, how it develops. And before the injury, I think he was in a great place. I think it took him a while at the beginning because, as you said, it's a different league, different demands.

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

Havertz, on the other hand, has been missing since the opening day due to injury, with a 2025 to forget for the German forward after a serious hamstring injury in February meant he’s effectively missed the entire year.

In a recent response to a question about an injury setback revealed by the German national coach Julian Nagelsmann, Arteta expressed the desperation he and the team have to see him return. Going as far as to say he “loves” what the forward adds to his side.

“We're all desperate to have him,” Arteta said. “I mean, it's a player that, personally, I love so much for what he brings to the team, but his character, his personality, I see him suffer being outside.

“His playing a record is phenomenal, he's always been available, and I can't wait to have him back around the team playing because I think it's going to be a massive boost for the team.”

From the manager’s perspective, he clearly has great hope for Gyokeres and feels the situation will improve. The established appreciation for Havertz, too, comes after a difficult start when he arrived.

So, where is the idea that Havertz received a significant grace period that already outstretches how Gyokeres is being discussed?

Personally, I don’t think that Havertz did broadly, even though I would argue, he should have. It’s been a while since it’s been sung, but Havertz’s song that he earned early on during his life at the club is all about a supposed waste of money it was bringing him in.

“£60million down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again!”

Grace period? I don’t think so; the move was widely criticised, and his struggles when he started playing in the left eight role, a position that would become clear he didn’t suit as soon as he began playing further forward, only worsened the scrutiny.

Havertz was signed after failing to fulfil his potential at Chelsea. Arteta believed he could get more from the player and take him to a higher level at Arsenal, and broadly it is believed that he has achieved that.

His two full Premier League seasons at Arsenal returned more goals together than the three he spent in West London. Havertz had just turned 24 when he joined Arsenal; Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah were the other centre-forwards, with the former out injured, still struggling after a return from a knee injury suffered at the World Cup the year before.

The Havertz signing was not seen as the transformative, level-raising acquisition like Declan Rice was that summer. And this is where we move to 2025 and the arrival of Viktor Gyokeres.

A new league, a new team and a price tag slightly less but similar to what the Gunners paid for Havertz. Nearly five months into his time with the club, and the discussion, as mentioned, has reached a new peak of concern vs patience.

Gyokeres has scored in four matches from his 19 appearances this season. A goal contribution (six goals and zero assists) once every 212 minutes.

In Havertz’s first season, he secured a goal contribution (14 goals and eight assists) once every 174 minutes. Last season, playing almost exclusively at centre-forward, he managed a goal contribution (15 goals and five assists) once every 140minutes.

From a personal perspective, no one should be making any final judgments on Gyokeres at this early stage, regardless. By the end of the season, we will have a clearer picture of his first campaign with Arsenal, just as we did with Havertz.

However, the reason why there is no “free-hit” season, or however you wish to describe it, for Gyokeres, where perhaps Havertz was given longer to prove himself, is just the stark difference in the timing and the fashion of their arrivals.

A 27-year-old striker, scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances over two seasons, joining to be “the striker” of Arsenal’s fabled and long-awaited 2025 summer transfer window, and who we know pushed to make the deal happen in a season where the pressure and expectation to win the title is the highest it has been in two decades, changes everything. The three-year age gap, the form prior to arrival, the context of the season, and the view that this is overall a better Arsenal team than the one that started the 2023/24 season, with current corresponding results from this season and 2023/24 showing the Gunners are six points better off in corresponding fixtures.

Overall, this conversation needs to be put on hold. It is okay to have and voice concerns.

It is okay to have the view that Gyokeres needs more time. It is certainly too early to make sweeping judgments on anyone at this stage of the season who arrived in the summer.

The season has already twisted and turned from the defeat at Anfield, to beating Bayern Munich, to the late pain of Villa Park, to the Wolves’ struggle and now onto a massive trip to Everton. That’s football, that’s the Premier League, so let’s just see what happens.