Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres conundrum: Do Gunners already need to upgrade on £64 million summer signing?

Gyokeres was touted as the missing link in Arsenal's attack when he signed from Sporting CP last July, the prolific goal-scorer Arteta's perennial Premier League runners-up had been lacking for so long.

During his two seasons in Lisbon, Gyokeres had scored more league goals than any other player across Europe's Top 10 championships - 68, to be precise, and in just 66 games. Nobody expected him to maintain that ridiculous strike-rate in England's top-flight, but the degree to which he struggled during the first half of the season surprised many observers.

Arteta attributed Gyokeres' initial struggles to a truncated pre-season caused by the protracted nature of his transfer from Sporting, but there appeared to be more to it than just a lack of match sharpness. Gyokeres looked surprisingly slow and cumbersome on far too many occasions, while his hold-up play was poor, meaning he was struggling to bring other players into the game.

Of course, strikers shouldn't be solely judged by the amount of touches they have during a game - just look at Erling Haaland - but the problem was that Gyokeres wasn't making up for his lack of involvement with decisive contributions in the penalty area.

The 27-year-old netted just five times in his first 21 Premier League appearances - and two of those goals came from the penalty spot. It, thus, came as no surprise to hear the likes of Jamie Carragher questioning the Swede's status as a truly "elite" striker.

"In the biggest games, he has looked a little bit short," the former Liverpool defender said on Sky Sports - and it remains a valid point, with Gyokeres having only scored one goal against one of the current top nine teams in the Premier League (in April's loss to Bournemouth).

However, Carragher was also keen to stress that it wasn't as if Gyokeres was missing loads of chances; it was more than he wasn't getting many: "People keep saying 'Arsenal's problem is finishing' but it's not, it's creating. They don't create enough."

Arsenal's inability to generate opportunities from open play has become a recurring issue the longer the season has gone on, and former Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea striker Chris Sutton has argued that they've hardly helped themselves by denying Gyokeres the kind of service he thrives on.

"He's a big, physical striker, yet when they have the ball in wide areas they neglect to cross the ball in," the Premier League title-winner told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I don't quite understand that because why have his type of centre-forward and not try to play to his strengths?

"He's not the cleverest player, but he is a grafter and he is a channel runner. They need to give him a chance because this is not a free-scoring Arsenal team.

"People have questioned him because he's the Arsenal guy that's meant to make a difference and he has done alright this season. But if you want to score a goal, you have to get chances.

"He's a good finisher, so it doesn't help when you have the ball in a good crossing area and people aren't prepared to take a chance and put the ball in. I understand principles of play, but you can score from crosses - it is allowed!"

As far as Paul Merson was concerned, Arsenal's reluctance to get the ball to Gyokeres was a reflection of his team-mates' lack of faith in him to do anything positive with it.

"They don't trust him - they never pass to him," the Gunners legend told the Stick to Football podcast in February. However, Merson has now changed his tune, having been hugely impressed by Gyokeres' all-round excellence in Saturday's win over Fulham.

"He reminded me of Haaland," the 58-year-old enthused. "I've given him a lot of stick but that was the best I have seen him play."

It was definitely Gyokeres' most complete performance in an Arsenal shirt to date, the first time, in fact, that he'd been involved in three goals in the same game since arriving in north London. His brace, meanwhile, means that he now sits fourth in the Premier League Golden Boot race on 14 strikes, behind only Haaland, Brentford's Igor Thiago and Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo.

Gyokeres' early opener on Saturday may have been a tap-in, after some sensational wing play from Bukayo Saka, but it was precisely the kind of goal he was bought to score, while his second was a hugely impressive header, given Leandro Trossard's lofted cross didn't just lack pace, it was also slightly behind him.

Of course, Gyokeres assist probably would have pleased Arteta more than anything else, with the former Coventry City man making a great run in behind to latch onto Eberechi Eze's ball over the top before cleverly putting Saka through to score with a reverse pass.

"He had a great performance," the Spaniard said. "I think in Madrid, especially the first half, he was really good, and today, all the minutes that he's played as well, his contribution with the goals... Every attacking action, he was involved - scored two great goals. Position-wise, timing-wise as well - it's something that we've been working on.

"It's going to give him a big boost of energy to him and confidence to the team as well."

Gyokeres' little purple patch certainly couldn't have come at a better time, both from Arsenal's perspective and his own. He's played his part in Arteta's men recovering from a dramatic dip in form to put themselves back in contention to win both the Premier League and the Champions League. Consequently, he's certain to start against Atletico on Tuesday - and yet the common consensus is that he'd be on the bench were Kai Havertz fit to feature.

Indeed, it was extremely significant that Arteta went with the German up front for last month's crucial clash with Premier League title rivals Manchester City at the Etihad, because the feeling is that Havertz offers more than Gyokeres in terms of pressing and link-up play.

Looking at the bigger picture, though, Havertz can't be relied upon to stay fit, much like fellow forward Gabriel Jesus, who is heading for the exit door at the Emirates.

As a result, Arsenal are almost certain to sign a striker this summer, and the only real doubt lies over whether they'll bring in a promising young player like Bournemouth teenager Eli Junior Kroupi or Endrick to eventually succeed Gyokeres as first-choice, or sign a proven goal-scorer such as Alvarez or Victor Osimhen to replace him right away.

Consequently, the final few games of the season feel just as important for Gyokeres as they do for Arsenal.

"He was put in the team to make sure they beat the lesser teams, and he has done," Merson said. "You want your striker to get 20 goals and he has done that. If they win the league, he has been a brilliant buy. If they don't, maybe he hasn't.

"But he was really good [against Fulham] and that is what they bought him for. Those performances haven't been there week in and week out, but if they are for the next four weeks - then [Arsenal will have made their] money back."

Merson may be oversimplifying the situation a tad - as is his want - but there's no denying that Gyokeres will, like any truly elite striker, be judged not only by the amount of goals he scores this season, but how many arrive in the games that really matter. In that sense, we actually could have a definitive answer to Arsenal's Gyokeres conundrum by the end of the month.