From Sweden to the North London Derby: Gyökeres's Road Back to Arsenal

Return to Action: Gyökeres Rejoins Arsenal’s Fold

Victor Gyökeres, the Swedish striker, returns to Arsenal after the November international break, having recovered from a muscular injury sustained during the Premier League clash with Burnley.

Gyökeres, 27, left the pitch at halftime of Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Burnley after feeling muscular pains, with the medical staff beginning investigations into the issue.

Arteta stated in the press conference ahead of the Slavia Prague fixture in the Champions League: "I’m worried because Victor had not suffered many muscular injuries before, yet he had to come off. He felt something, and that’s never a good sign for a player with explosive pace. We are trying to understand the nature of the injury more precisely, and we will announce details when the picture becomes clearer."

According to The Athletic, Gyökeres did not travel with Arsenal to Prague to face Slavia, and is expected to miss the upcoming Sunderland match.

The Athletic added Arsenal are working to nurse him back for matches as soon as the international break ends, following the Sunderland game.

Arteta commented on Oct 31: "It’s hard to set a specific return date; we have an international break of two weeks, and after that we expect to have some players back. We’ll be close to that date."

Arsenal hopes to have Gyökeres back before the North London Derby against Tottenham on November 23. The medical team is also racing to reinstate other injured players.

Besides Gyökeres, the medical staff are trying to restore Gabriel Martinelli, who has a muscular injury from the Oct 26 win over Crystal Palace. The Brazilian winger was left out of Brazil’s November squad to focus on recovery and return after league action resumes.

Arsenal also hopes to recover Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz, Martin Ødegaard, and striker Gabriel Jesus, who is nearing full fitness ahead of the league restart.

Punchline 1: If injuries were goals, Victor would be chasing a Golden Boot from the treatment table.

Punchline 2: Arsenal’s medical team have more tests than a detective series—only with more coffee and fewer plot twists.

From Sweden to the limelight of the Premier League

The Swedish forward Victor Gyökeres is one of Europe’s rising stars in recent years, carving a path from local Swedish leagues to the continent’s top competitions.

Born on 4 June 1998 in Stockholm, he began his football journey with Brommapojkarna, a club famed for producing young talent in Sweden.

In 2015, he broke into the first team at 17, catching the eye with his physicality and finishing. In 2017, he exploded with 13 goals in 29 matches in the Swedish second division, guiding his team to promotion and becoming a prominent Nordic talent.

Scouts from Europe did not miss him; Brighton signed him in January 2018. Although moving to the EPL, his path to regular playing time wasn’t straightforward, and he was loaned immediately to St. Pauli in the 2. Bundesliga, gaining crucial European experience and scoring to boost his profile.

Back in England, Gyökeres continued to move on loan to Swansea City and Coventry City. With Coventry in 2021-22, he delivered impressive performances, and the following season he notched 21 goals in the Championship, becoming one of the league’s top scorers.

This eye-catching form drew interest from Europe’s elite, and in summer 2023 he joined Sporting CP in Portugal for around €20 million, starting a new chapter. There, he quickly proved his value by helping Sporting achieve domestic and European success, scoring over 40 goals in his first season and becoming the team’s undisputed star and leader to the league title.

Gyökeres’s style blends strength, rapid bursts, and sharp positioning in the box, with a fearless approach in one-on-one duels and a keen goal-scoring instinct that keeps defenders awake.

Internationally, he has represented Sweden since 2019, featuring in Euro and World Cup qualifiers, seen as a potential successor to Zlatan Ibrahimović. His rising form in Portugal solidified his place in the national team setup.

In the summer of 2025, the striker continued his ascent by moving to Arsenal in a deal that drew European headlines. Arteta saw him as the ideal forward to lead the line, and since the season’s start, Gyökeres has shown the same competitive drive and scoring hunger, continuing to write new chapters in a career that began modestly and has since peaked in European football.