Viktor Gyokeres (foto: Getty Images)
Viktor Gyokeres fired Arsenal to the Premier League title last season, but Kai Havertz's brilliant start has created an unexpected dilemma for Mikel Arteta.
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Viktor Gyokeres arrived at Arsenal as the striker expected to finally deliver the Premier League title. He did exactly that.
One year later, however, the £63.5m signing suddenly finds himself fighting for his place.
Arsenal have started their title defence with consecutive 3-0 victories, but Gyokeres has barely featured. He played only 15 minutes in the Community Shield against Manchester City and remained on the bench throughout the Premier League opener against Coventry.
The reason is simple: Kai Havertz has started the season superbly.
Havertz has taken his chance
The German scored against Manchester City and followed that with another goal against Coventry.
More importantly for Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's attack appears to function naturally with Havertz leading the line.
His movement and link-up play create space for Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, while his ability to drop deeper gives Arsenal another option when building attacks.
There were already signs towards the end of last season that Arteta trusted Havertz in the biggest matches.
He started up front against Manchester City in April, in Arsenal's final home match against Burnley and, most significantly, in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Havertz scored in all three matches.
That creates an uncomfortable situation for Gyokeres.
From title hero to fighting for minutes
The Swedish striker joined Arsenal for £63.5m and accepted the pressure of wearing Thierry Henry's famous No14 shirt.
He then delivered exactly what Arsenal wanted, finishing as the club's top scorer with 21 goals as the Gunners won their first Premier League title since 2004.
Yet Arteta may now prefer a different type of striker.
One possibility is that the Arsenal manager uses Gyokeres and Havertz depending on the opposition. Aston Villa's high defensive line on Monday could certainly suit the Swede's pace and direct running.
But Havertz currently appears to have the advantage, particularly for Arsenal's biggest matches.
Julian Alvarez rumours add another complication
The situation is even more intriguing because Arsenal continue to be linked with Julian Alvarez.
A deal remains extremely difficult, with Atletico Madrid reluctant to sell and Barcelona believed to be the Argentine's preferred destination if he leaves Spain.
Gary Neville believes Alvarez could transform Arsenal into an even stronger team.
"If Arsenal could get Alvarez somehow, that is going to light this place up," Neville told Sky Sports.
"They'd become not just Premier League title winners, but you're then thinking that they can go that extra step and win the Champions League as well."
Arteta has already confirmed that Gyokeres will stay at Arsenal, and a long season should provide opportunities for both strikers.
But 15 minutes across Arsenal's opening two matches is inevitably going to create questions.
Gyokeres answered Arsenal's biggest question last season by scoring 21 goals and helping deliver the Premier League title. Now he faces a new challenge: proving to Arteta that the man signed to lead Arsenal's attack should still be the one starting at the heart of it.