As the 25/26 Premier League season approaches, we bring you a full breakdown of Viktor Gyokeres’ transfer to Arsenal and how he impacts the upcoming FPL season! We break down Gyokeres’ position and role, his indivdual impact, the impact to his team and what all of that means for his FPL value. We also take a shot at estimating his price range and stats!
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Transfer Overview:
Transfer:
Sporting Lisbon to Arsenal
Tranfer Fee:
£55 million plus £9 million in add ons.
Contract Length:
5 years. Contract runs until 2030.
Wage:
Reported around £180-£200k per week plus likely goal, assist and trophy bonuses.
Individual Analysis:
Position:
He is a pure number 9 in the mould of a Haaland or Darwin Nunez. While he does run the channels and drifts to the left, I don’t think Gyokeres could play LW. He is a striker.
(Source: Sofascore.com)
Role & Stats:
Gyokeres is a modern version of a traditional number 9, in the mould of a Haaland or Nunez. Tall, athletic, rapid pace, runs channels and lives to score goals – they are not interested in much else on a football pitch.
Gyokeres unlike Nunez, is one of the best finishers in world football. He strikes the ball hard and is deadly accurate, and when he’s not, the power in the shot often beats GK’s anyway.
The Sweden international has been one of Europe’s most prolific strikers over the past 2 seasons. He scored an incredible 39 goals in the Primeira Liga last season from 31.0xG, which shows two things: not only does Gyokeres consistently find himself on the end of high quality chances and therefore by pure law of averages he will score goals, but he also adds value to his chances due to his level to of finishing accumen – his post shot xG of 33.5xG exemplifies exactly that.
He did score 12 penalties, meaning he scored 27 non penalty goals. Any news in pre season on Gyokeres taking penalties for Arsenal, which is a possibility, would be big for his FPL value.
He is not the most dominant player from an aerial perspective. Only 4 of his 96 goals for Sporting in all comps over the past 2 seasons have been headed goals. 0 headed goals last season.
Many FPL managers will be wondering why Europe’s elite teams have not been fighting over a striker who puts up these kind of goal scoring numbers. Well firstly there is the leagues Gyokeres has dominated – the Championship, and then a Primeira Liga that was exposed at the Club World Cup as likely being the 7th or 8th best league in the world. The Brazilian Serie A teams had a much stronger showing at the CWC than either of Porto or Benfica.
Gyokeres does struggle as a hold up player when isolated against CB’s, and Premier League CB’s are leagues above Primeira Liga CB’s when it comes to athleticism, physicality and talent levels. He also is not an elite link up striker in the mould of say an Isak, or at a lower level a Joao Pedro.
Gyokeres as a dribbler is an interesting case study. His dribble numbers are excellent with 60 completed dribbles at a 48% success rate. However when you watch games, you can see his dribbling shines when there is large spaces to attack. The Swede is a transition monster who can attack space and create chances for himself to score. However dribbling and execution in tight spaces is where he does struggle at times, and that space and the physicality in the Premier League is multiple levels above Portugal. Additionally, Arsenal like to pen teams in and get their team settled in opposition territory, which minimises the amount of space Arsenal’s forwards have to attack.
He is not much of a creator for others. He had 7 assists in the league from 6.9xA last season but again, think about the competition level and the fact he played for the best team in that league. Gyokeres’ passing and crossing are not strengths and creating goals for others won’t be his focus for Arsenal.
(Source: Footmob.com)
Expected Minutes:
Definitely their first choice, starting striker over Havertz.
I expect him to start 28-33 league games if he has a fully healthy season. The floor is only as low as 28 games due to Arsenal having Champions League football and needing to rotate somewhat, as well as a possible bedding in period for Gyokeres as he adjusts to the Premier League.
Additionally, Havertz is a good player who has lead the line for a title challenging Arsenal side before, and is on over £200k a week, and therefore is still going to start games.
FPL Position:
Premium Forward
FPL Analysis:
Gyokeres is going to be a premium Forward, my guess is somewhere between £8.5-£9m and will have high EO to begin the season. FPL fans will not be able to look past his goal numbers and think they will be getting Haaland at a discount.
His expected minutes being quite safe, as well as him having a good injury record and playing for one of the 3 best teams in the league makes him an attractive player to own.
If he scores some early goals and looks to be gelling well with his new teammates, his ownership could rise quickly. So if you own him from GW1, you could get a tremendous value.
Whether he becomes Arsenal’s number 1 penalty taker will be big for his value. Saka and Odegaard aren’t elite level pen takers, and Gyokeres is very good at converting from the spot.
If Gyokeres shows early signs of needing time to adjust, and is being rotated early in the season with Havertz, then the managers that avoiding owning him from GW1 will be looking very smart. He is going to be a big factor in the early weeks of the FPL season.
Team Impact:
Gyokeres add’s an elite level goal threat and finisher to Arsenal’s forward line, which is something they lacked. Those crosses Saka and Martinelli flash across the box with no one arriving will look different with Gyokeres crashing the box and striking it purely in a way Havertz does not.
I would argue Gyokeres does not actually add much to Arsenal’s aerial threat because that’s an area Havertz is quite strong in and Gyokeres is somewhat surprisingly not that strong in.
Gyokeres adds a level of pace and ability to run channels and take players on 1 on 1 in transition that Havertz simply doesn’t. That is a new dimension for this Arsenal attack coming from their number 9.
I think Arsenal likely will score more goals and be a better attacking side from open play this season with Gyokyeres’ arrival, but not significantly. He does have the flaws in areas that we discussed. Those are some areas Havertz excels in, and those attributes help Arsenal score goals and pen teams in to gain settled possession in the opposition teams half.
FPL Price Prediction:
£8.5m-£9.0m
My Prediction:
So we have discussed all of Gyokeres’ strengths and weaknesses. Both ends of the spectrum on how his season can go. So where do I stand? I personally lean towards a middle ground. I know, that’s a cop out.
To be more specific, I do think Gyokeres will score goals, but nowhere near the rate he did in Portugal. I think the flaws in his game will shine more brightly in the best league in the world, and I do think there will be some rotation with Havertz.
I don’t think Gyokeres’ gets anywhere near the number of high quality chances that he did for Sporting in the Primeira Liga. Premier League defences are too good, and Arsenal struggled to create chances from open play last season. And while they won’t want to hear it, Havertz’s strengths help Arsenal create chances. He just doesn’t help finish them. Gyokeres is almost the exact opposite. I think there will be an adjustment period.
For his assumed price-tag to begin the season, it’s a no from me. I would rather go for a template of Haaland, a Forward in the £6.5m-£7.5m range and then the cheapest £4.5m forward I can find who might be on a promoted teams bench, than own Gyokeres before I’ve ever seen him play in the Premier League.
An absolute FPL Fanatic, with a strong background in sports Journalism and statistics, Ahsan is one of the key writers here at ingenuity. Ahsan's content stretches from How-to guides right up to analytical deep dives on players, making his content appealing for both the serious fantasy player and newbie alike.
15 Jul, 2025
