The atmosphere around Arsenal at the moment is incredibly positive.
Mikel Arteta’s side are sitting atop the Premier League table, three points clear of Manchester City and four points clear of Liverpool.
Moreover, while their title rivals look porous at the back, the Gunners are as solid as they’ve ever been and haven’t allowed a single shot on target across the last two games.
In other words, they are going into the Champions League game against Atlético Madrid in brilliant form, apart from up top, that is. Therefore, the manager should drop Viktor Gyokeres from the side.
Why Gyokeres should be dropped
Okay, so before the pitchforks and torches come out, there are a few reasons why dropping Gyokeres for this game makes sense, and the first one is sadly his form.
Yes, it’s certainly the case that the Swedish international’s presence on the pitch has at times helped to create space for others, but what he is ultimately in the team to do is score goals, and he hasn’t done that anywhere near enough this season.
For example, in 11 games across all competitions, the 27-year-old has scored just three goals, all three of which have come in the league, two against Leeds United and one against Nottingham Forest.
Simply put, with him not doing his primary job to the standard expected of him, it makes sense to see him dropped for the game against Atlético.
However, a possible reason why he is struggling in front of goal could be the fact he’s been thrown into the deep end by Kai Havertz’s injury and is currently in need of a proper rest.
Appearances
11
Starts
10
Minutes
842′
Goals
3
Assists
0
Goal Involvements per Match
0.27
Minutes per Goal Involvement
280.66′
Doing this would not only take some of the heat off him, but it might also allow him to come back into the side firing for the home game against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Finally, the unfortunate reality is that Arteta does not have many options to play up top at the moment, so it might make sense to rest the former Sporting CP star to protect the makeup of the squad.
Fortunately, while the options to replace Gyokeres in the team are limited, they aren’t nonexistent.
The Arsenal star who should replace Gyokeres
While there isn’t an out-and-out striker to start ahead of Gyokeres, there are a few Arsenal players who could do a job up-top, like Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Martinelli.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
However, after the last year of football, there is, of course, only one player Arteta should be considering to replace the Swede: Mikel Merino.
The Spanish international may be a central midfielder by trade, but he has been incredibly prolific for club and country in 2025, and as things stand, remains the Gunners’ top scorer for the calander year.
For example, he ended last season with a tally of nine goals and five assists in 44 games, but eight of those goals and all five assists came in the new-year.
So far this season he only has one goal to his name, but it was a hugely important one away to Newcastle United.
As if that wasn’t enough, the 29-year-old monster, who Arsenal writer Adam Keys has dubbed “a magnet in the box,” has also found the back of the net eight times on international duty this year and provided one assist for good measure.
Moreover, he actually scored a hat-trick against Turkey in September, so there really cannot be any doubt over his outrageous goalscoring abilities anymore.
Ultimately, Merino is not going to become Arsenal’s starting striker, but with Gyokeres out of form, and likely in need of a rest, he could be the perfect solution for the game against Atlético.
