Wayne Rooney Backs Viktor Gyökeres as Arsenal’s Key to Premier League and Champions League Double

Wayne Rooney has come out in strong support of Viktor Gyökeres, insisting the Arsenal forward will be the decisive figure if the Gunners complete an unprecedented Premier League and Champions League double this season.

The former Manchester United and England captain acknowledged that his position has drawn pushback, but maintained his stance. “I’ve said this all season, and I have been criticised for saying it, but I actually really like him,” Rooney said, pointing to the 27-year-old’s relentless pressing and channel-running as qualities that consistently stretch opposition defences.

Rooney was particularly specific about how Gyökeres’s movement unlocks space for Arsenal’s wide attackers. “And what we’ve seen recently is that it’s creating more space for Eberechi Eze and for Bukayo Saka – because if one, or both centre-backs have to go and cover him and then the full-back has to cover round, when you switch the ball quickly, it creates so much space for everyone just in behind him,” he explained.

The timing of Rooney’s comments reflects a significant shift in Gyökeres’s fortunes at the club. The Swedish international arrived from Sporting CP last summer in a deal worth £64 million, carrying considerable expectations given his prolific output in Portugal. His early months in north London, however, were underwhelming — he managed just three goals in his first 11 appearances and went 10 consecutive matches without scoring from open play.

That lean spell appears firmly behind him. Gyökeres has found the net five times in his last nine outings, lifting his total across all competitions to 21 goals for the season. The milestone places him in distinguished company: he is the first Arsenal player since Thierry Henry and Ian Wright to reach 20 goals in a debut campaign at the club.

The resurgence comes at a critical point in Arsenal’s season, with the club competing on two major fronts. Should Gyökeres maintain his current form, his contributions — both in terms of goals and the space his movement creates for teammates — could prove pivotal to any potential silverware.

Rooney’s assessment adds to a broader conversation around Gyökeres’s value to Arteta’s system, one that goes beyond traditional goal-scoring metrics. For a manager whose tactical framework relies heavily on coordinated pressing, positional rotation, and the exploitation of space in behind defensive lines, a striker willing to sacrifice individual statistics for collective benefit is a significant asset.

At 27, Gyökeres remains in the prime years of a striker’s career. Whether Arsenal can sustain their challenge across both competitions will depend in part on whether he can carry his recent form through to the end of the campaign.