Arsenal legend bills ‘prime Thierry Henry’ Viktor Gyokeres as 'missing link' in Premier League title bid

Gyokeres moved to Emirates Stadium for £55 million ($75m) during the summer of 2025. He took time to settle at Arsenal - despite boasting prior experience of English football - and saw questions asked of his ability to lead the line for the most ambitious of outfits.

His qualities have, however, been showcased on a more regular basis since the turn of the year. The 27-year-old bagged a brace in a 4-1 derby victory over Spurs, taking him to 15 goals for the season across all competitions. He has recorded eight efforts in 2026 and nobody in the Premier League can claim to have bettered that return.

Arsenal icon Parlour believes Gyokeres could be a key man for the Gunners as they chase down a long-awaited crown, telling The Sun: “If he can do what he did against Tottenham week in, week out then that would be fantastic. He looked like a different player against Tottenham. He looks a lot more confident.

“Not just his goals he scored, but the all-round play was much better. He was getting into the right positions. The last goal was like prime Thierry Henry back in the day. Henry used to do that on a regular basis. So, if he can carry on that form, that would be the missing link, because that’s probably where Arsenal are weakest. If you look at the team in general, it’s the strike force.

“You’ve got to do it week in, week out. That’s the hard bit. Thierry obviously did it week in, week out. And if Gyokeres can do that, that could be the difference this year, definitely.”

Parlour formed part of Arsenal’s fabled ‘Invincibles’ squad back in 2003-04, and they remain the last Gunners team to land the Premier League title. The class of 2025-26 hold a five-point lead at the top of the table.

Parlour said: “If you said to me in 2004 that you won’t win the league again for another 20-odd years, I’d have said ‘No chance. We’ll definitely win the league before that.’ So, it just shows you how difficult it is and how hard it is to win that league.”

Arteta is under pressure to deliver this term after overseeing three successive runners-up finishes. He has Arsenal in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple, but could see his job fall under threat if another season were to be finished empty-handed.

Parlour believes change in the dugout would be a disastrous decision regardless of what happens from this point. The ex-England international added: “The problem is, who is the right man? How many managers are out there? You can’t keep doing what other teams do, just keep picking managers for the sake of it and then sacking them.

“I just think it would be madness to get rid of him. I know we’d all be very disappointed if they come second again and I’ll be up there with them. People will say ‘we’ve got to get a change’, but change for who? That’s the big question. Who’s out there to do a job like Mikel Arteta? I don’t know.”

Arsenal are determined to avoid being forced into what could be a congested managerial market this summer, with the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Real Madrid also on the lookout for new permanent bosses.

Gyokeres was considered to be the final piece in a title-winning jigsaw for the Gunners when arriving from Sporting - with the nearly men crying out for a fearsome No.9 - and he may yet deliver on that remit.