Gyokeres eyes Leeds start after Havertz injury opens Arsenal door

Viktor Gyokeres returns to Arsenal in sharply different form to when he left, with three goals for Sweden during the international break putting him in contention for a Premier League start against Leeds on Saturday — a fixture made more relevant by a Kai Havertz injury doubt.

The Swedish striker had endured a quiet start to the season at Arsenal, going without a goal and missing two of the club’s first seven Premier League games. He departed for the international break with little momentum. He comes back having scored against Romania, sealed a win over Poland, and contributed to a draw in Bosnia and Herzegovina — a run that made him the first player to score in six consecutive Nations League matches across the 2024-25 and current editions.

Havertz, who had started the campaign strongly with three goals and held Arteta’s clear preference in attack, suffered an injury while on duty with Germany and is now a major doubt for the Leeds fixture. Arsenal were then dealt a second blow when winger Christos Tzolis went down during Greece’s game on Thursday, leaving Arteta likely to make at least two changes to his starting line-up.

The timing could hardly be better for Gyokeres. The 28-year-old has a strong record against Saturday’s opponents, scoring three times in two appearances against Leeds last season, including a brace on his home debut for the club.

Gyokeres had also been the subject of transfer speculation during the summer, with a swap deal involving Atlético Madrid’s Julián Álvarez discussed but never completed. The striker, however, was clear about his intentions.

“Of course, there was a lot of speculation,” Gyokeres said this week. “But I had a full pre-season, and it felt good. I was fully focused on Arsenal. For me, staying was a given. I’m extremely happy at the club. It’s clear that I want to play football as much as possible. Hopefully that will come, too.”

Beyond Leeds, Arsenal’s schedule intensifies quickly. The club return to Champions League action at home to Lille on 13 October before back-to-back away fixtures at Nottingham Forest and Bayern Munich over the following eight days — a stretch in which Gyokeres will be pushing hard to cement a regular place if Havertz’s absence extends.