Arsenal Invincible Places His Faith In Viktor Gyokeres

Three games, two wins and a loss. Arsenal’s start to the 2025-26 Premier League campaign hasn’t been perfect, but in fairness to the Gunners, that loss came against reigning champions Liverpool at Anfield.

Mikel Arteta’s men got the better of Manchester United at Old Trafford and then went on to demolish Leeds United at the Emirates. The loss to Liverpool came before the international break, and Arsenal will resume their campaign hosting by Nottingham Forest, who have just announced Ange Postecoglou as their new manager.

The Gunners’ defensive record has started off well, having only conceded one goal so far, but questions still remain around their attacking prowess. New signing Viktor Gyokeres is off the mark but doubts still linger around his abilities, especially after a poor showing for Sweden in their loss to Kosovo.

Ex-Arsenal defender and member of the 2003-04 ‘Invincibles’ Lauren has backed Gyokeres to find his feet. He also commented on the young players in the team, as well as the quality of Arsenal’s defence and whether it’s the best in Europe.

Gyokeres will come good as he adapts to the pace of the Premier League

While Gyokeres found the net twice in the game against Leeds, he cut an anonymous figure against Manchester United and Liverpool. Fans have been quick to criticise him, with United legend Paul Scholes joining them.

Lauren, however, has backed the Swede to get to his best but says that it will take him some time to get used to the pace of the Premier League.

“I am not saying the Portuguese league is a bad league, but the speed of the game at Arsenal is higher, so he needs time to understand everything.”

“What I really like about Gyokeres is his personality. You could see it straight away. He didn´t score against Man United, but he has this self belief knowing he will score.”

“He is not overdoing it for the camera, he just does what he has to do.”

“He can hold the ball and immediately go to a position where he can get it and score. We have seen at Sporting Lisbon as well that he can get the ball on the left, go inside and score a goal.”

“He has to keep doing what he does. I really like that he knows exactly what to do and sticks to that.”

Lauren also adds that Gyokeres can help overcome Arsenal’s issues in the final third, which led to the team not being able to mount a successful title challenge last season.

"The biggest problem (last season), in my opinion, was in the last third. We can analyse that in different ways. It's true that Ødegaard wasn't there, Saka and Havertz picked up injuries and we didn't score as much. In my opinion, it's down to creativity."

"It's true that we score a lot on set-pieces. It's fantastic but that creativity from open play was missing in so many games that we drew. I believe that this season we signed players who are creative and can provide passes, and score goals, like Gyokeres."

Lauren points to the signing of Eberechi Eze as a solution to Arsenal’s problems in the final third. The Cameroonian sees the former Crystal Palace man being a new creative lynchpin who can unlock defences.

“Eze is a fantastic player and he did amazingly at Crystal Palace, but now we have to see him at a bigger stage with bigger pressure. I definitely think he can do well and change the games for Arsenal.”

“Eze is an Arsenal boy. He loves the club. When you have the emotional connection and the quality as well, that makes a big difference.”

“He knows that even if he isn´t performing well, he is confident that this is his family and will work even harder. He will give more than 100%, and he is a fantastic player. I can’t wait to see him at Arsenal.”

“Arsenal needs a player like him who can create something out of nothing. This boy can make the difference, and I don't think he will have any problems performing.”

With Arsenal priced at 15/8 to win the league, you can use our bet calculator to work out potential earnings if you back Gyokeres and Eze to fire Arteta’s men to glory.

Arsenal’s squad is a blend of youth and experience - that’s the club DNA

Eze is another senior player with his roots in Arsenal’s Hale End academy. The likes of Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman are all graduates of the Arsenal academy, and Lauren expressed his pleasure that the club’s youth program has strong representation in the senior squad.

“This is Arsenal, and we have always had youth products coming through. They know what the club means to the fans, and this is our club. We are mixing players from the academy and players from abroad.”

“When you see Max Dowman with his determination to go on and attack the defender. This is what you are looking for, and they have Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri as well.”

“I love to see those young players who have always been at Arsenal doing well.”

Jurrien Timber or Ben White? Who should be the starting right-back?

Thanks to stronger squad depth, the competition for places has also increased. Lauren operated as a right-back for Arsenal, and he commented on who is the better fit between Jurrien Timber and Ben White.

“Well, I think that both Timber and Ben White are absolutely top players for Arsenal. What I like about both of them is their mentality. Ben White has been doing very well, but Timber is a quality player as well.”

“Timber became mentally stronger because of the injury. They are top quality. I love to see their commitment and determination."

“We need both of them if we want to compete for the titles.”

Lauren also commented that Arsenal’s defence is up there among the best in the world, and there should be no doubt about that as they have the stats to back it up.

"Arsenal's defence is one of the best in Europe, no doubt. Gabriel and Saliba are two players who have just been outstanding. It's not just one game, one season. Look at how many seasons they've been performing together so well and keeping Arsenal up there among the top teams. They've been outstanding and maybe the only defence that was better last season was Athletic Bilbao who had the best defensive record in the top five leagues. They only conceded 29 goals."

"You're going to make errors every single year but what I believe is Arsenal's biggest problem isn't at the back. If you look two years ago, Arsenal scored 91 goals and conceded 29. Last season, we conceded 34 but we only scored 69. A 20-goal difference in the last third. At the back, more or less the same level."

Read more as Lauren explains why he believes Arsenal can win the Premier League