The last week or so has been a good one for Arsenal.
First, Liverpool dropped points to Crystal Palace in the Premier League and then, thanks to a last-minute goal of their own, Mikel Arteta’s side capitalised by beating Newcastle United.
On top of that, the Gunners picked up another three points and a clean sheet in the Champions League, and while he didn’t score, it was another game in which Viktor Gyokeres looked more like the top-level striker so many hoped he’d be.
Finally, another important Arsenal player appears to have found some real form of late as well, someone who could potentially help the Swedish striker reach Erling Haaland-esque numbers by season’s end.
How Gyokeres compared to Haaland last season
The first thing to note is that this article isn’t suggesting Gyokeres will ever be on the same level as Haaland; that would be rather absurd.
However, there is no reason to think the Swede couldn’t find himself in a hot streak at some point this season and match his numbers-wise during that period.
After all, while he was playing in a far weaker league last season, the Stockholm-born star was a goalscoring monster for Sporting CP.
For example, in 52 appearances for the Portuguese outfit, totalling 4248 minutes, he was able to score a staggering 54 goals and provide 13 assists.
That comes out to a mind-blowing average of 1.28 goal involvements per game, or one every 63.40 minutes, and if that isn’t a world-class rate of return, nothing is.
Appearances
52
48
Minutes
4248′
4042′
Goals
54
34
Assists
13
5
Goal Involvements per Match
1.28
0.81
Minutes per Goal Involvements
63.40′
103.64′
For his efforts, the Manchester City striker’s racked up a tally of 34 goals and five assists in 48 appearances, totalling 4042 minutes.
That comes out to a still outrageously impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.23 games, or one every 103.64 minutes.
Now, the level of opposition is a clear caveat with these numbers, but given his improvement over the last few games, his physicality, and incredible shot power, there is no reason why Gyokeres couldn’t rival Haaland with the right service.
Fortunately, someone who could be the chief provider of said service looks to be back in form.
The Arsenal star who could help Gyokeres reach Haaland numbers
The brilliant news for Arteta this season is that with Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke in the team, there is no shortage of players who could supply Gyokeres with chances.
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However, in this instance, the player who could be the most crucial in helping the Swede rival his fellow Scandinavian this season is Martin Odegaard.
Now, it’s undoubtedly true that the Gunners’ captain had a poor campaign last year, but it’s easy to forget that he was named the club’s Player of the Year for the two seasons prior.
Moreover, the Norwegian international was battling with an ankle injury that was clearly impacting his ability to play late into the season.
Regardless, the “world-class” midfielder, as dubbed by ex-Arsenal star Paul Merson, seems to be getting back to his mercurial best at the moment.
For example, his cameo off the bench against Newcastle United last week was incredibly impactful, with his persistent passes in behind leading to Declan Rice’s cross, which ultimately resulted in Mikel Merino’s equaliser.
Then, against Olympiacos, he was in from the start and put in what might’ve been his best performance for the club in quite some time.
The “sensational” international, as dubbed by content creator Connor Humm, was all over the pitch and supplied the attackers, specifically Gyokeres, with a constant stream of balls over the top and passes through the back line for them to latch onto.
In fact, during his 95 minutes of action, the 26-year-old produced an incredible expected assists figure of 0.93 and was finally rewarded when Bukayo Saka drilled a wonderful ball between the goalkeepers’ legs late on.
Minutes
95′
Expected Goals
0.72
Expected Assists
0.93
Assists
1
Key Passes
4
Touches
86
Long Balls (Accurate)
10 (7)
Shots on Target
1
Dribbles (Successful)
1 (1)
Clearances
1
Tackles
1
Ultimately, Gyokeres might not be quite as good a striker as Haaland, but with the players in this Arsenal team and Odegaard playing as well as he is at the moment, he might just be able to match his output for a period.