Viktor Gyökeres goes into Arsenal's meeting with Leeds on Saturday after scoring three goals in as many matches for Sweden. Kai Havertz picked up a hamstring injury on Germany duty, so Mikel Arteta has a genuine selection call at centre-forward for Arsenal vs Leeds.

Gyökeres and the centre-forward call

The Sweden form is the obvious reason Gyökeres comes into the conversation. He has three goals in his last three matches for Sweden, while his Premier League return for Arsenal is still on 0. Gyökeres' Premier League rating for Arsenal stands at 6.52, well below the 8.03 he averaged across four Nations League matches for Sweden.

That gap does not settle the decision by itself, but it does explain why Arteta may be willing to give him the lead role against Leeds. Arsenal have won four of their five league games, so the manager does not need to rip up the structure to solve one attacking problem.

The left-side choice

The bigger judgment may come on the left. Arteta has praised the improvements Eberechi Eze has made off the ball in that position, and Eze has only 94 Premier League minutes for Arsenal so far. Noni Madueke has even less, with 23 Premier League minutes for Arsenal, but he did play on the left wing in the early stages of last season.

That leaves Arteta with a fairly direct choice. Eze offers the more settled off-ball option, while Madueke brings pace and a more aggressive threat in behind. If Gyökeres starts through the middle, the balance on Arsenal's left becomes the piece that decides how open the front line looks.

Gabriel and Bruno Guimarães are back early this week after Brazil only played three matches in this window, and Carlo Ancelotti said, "I chose these players, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Bruno, Vini, Raphinha, to help with this generational change," in comments to standard.co.uk. He added that they are "very important players for the future."

Leeds will not make the selection easier just because Arsenal are at home. The fixture is set for Saturday, and Arteta's most interesting call now is whether Gyökeres stays central or whether the wider work on the left takes priority.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →