Arsenal star Viktor Gyokeres breaks UEFA record as clear message sent to Mikel Arteta
Viktor Gyokeres celebrates scoring yet another goal for Sweden(Image: Kazimierz Koper/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Viktor Gyokeres has continued to enjoy an impressive international break with Sweden as the Arsenal star broke a UEFA record. Gyokeres is currently on international duty with his country as the Nations League takes centre stage, while the Premier League has a three-week hiatus.
Friday night saw Sweden held to a 1-1 draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina at Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, with Gyokeres on the score sheet for the visitors.
The Arsenal striker opened the scoring on the hour mark before Kerim Alajbegovic equalised for Bosnia to see the points shared in the Nations League Group B4 clash.
The strike from Gyokeres means he has now scored in each of Sweden’s two fixtures during the international break, having also found the back of the net in wins over Romania and Poland.
Gyokeres’ goal against Bosnia also saw him break a record, which is that he has now become the first player to score in six consecutive appearances in the Nations League.
The Gunners star had previously scored four goals against Azerbaijan back in November 2024 and had also scored in the previous two games against Estonia and Slovakia.
Gyokeres will get an opportunity to extend his record when Sweden take on Romania on Monday night in Bucharest.
The striker’s future was the subject of speculation in the summer when Arsenal were linked with signing a new centre-forward, namely Julian Alvarez, from Atletico Madrid.
The 28-year-old was recently quizzed on his future at the Emirates Stadium, where he stated that a move away from north London was never something he thought about despite his lack of game time so far this term.
"Of course, there was a lot of speculation,” Gyokeres said. “But I had a full pre-season, and it felt good. I was fully focused on Arsenal. For me, staying was a given. I'm extremely happy at the club."
He added: "It's clear that I want to play football and as much as possible. Hopefully that will come, too.
"You always want to be on the field as a football player. Of course you expect more playing time, but we have an extremely good squad with a lot of good players and have been doing well here at the start."
Gyokeres will hope that the run of form for Sweden will boost his chances of getting into Arsenal's starting line-up. Mikel Arteta may have to call upon him with Kai Havertz nursing a muscle strain picked up on international duty with Germany.
The forward, who has been preferred to Gyokeres so far this season, will likely be in contention for the Gunners' first match back against Leeds on October 10. However, it's unlikely he'll play the full 90 and Arteta may opt against risking him, meaning Gyokeres' return to form might have come at the perfect time.
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