Wayne Rooney Names Viktor Gyökeres Arsenal’s Best Signing of the 2025-26 Premier League Season

Viktor Gyökeres has been named the best signing of the 2025-26 Premier League season by Wayne Rooney, with the former England captain and Manchester United skipper citing the Swedish forward’s transformative influence on Arsenal’s title-winning campaign as the primary reason for his selection.

Rooney made the assessment on his BBC podcast following the conclusion of the Premier League season, offering his verdict on the most impactful transfer of the year. “I think Viktor Gyokeres. Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for Sunderland, but look at what Gyokeres has brought to Arsenal; it’s exactly what they have needed,” Rooney said.

Gyökeres joined Arsenal in the summer of 2025 from Sporting CP, where he had established himself as one of Europe’s most prolific forwards. His arrival at the Emirates Stadium added a different attacking dimension to Mikel Arteta’s side, one that proved critical as the Gunners ended a 22-year wait for the English top-flight title — their last league championship having come in the 2003-04 Invincibles season under Arsène Wenger.

While Rooney acknowledged the impressive performances of Granit Xhaka, who returned to English football with Sunderland after his time at Bayer Leverkusen, the former striker was unequivocal in his assessment that Gyökeres had the greater overall impact on the season’s defining narrative.

Arsenal’s title success came after a series of near-misses in recent campaigns, with the club finishing as runners-up in previous seasons despite mounting sustained title challenges. The addition of a proven, high-volume goalscorer was widely regarded as the missing piece in Arteta’s squad, and according to reports, Gyökeres delivered on that expectation throughout the campaign.

The Swedish international also featured prominently in Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League run, with former France international Thierry Henry among those to highlight his contributions at the European level. Arsenal’s final-day fixture against Crystal Palace, in which Noni Madueke was among those to impress, served as a celebratory close to a landmark domestic season for the club.

Gyökeres’ move from Sporting CP to Arsenal was one of the most anticipated transfers of the 2025 summer window, with the Portuguese club’s academy product having scored prolifically in the Primeira Liga before his departure. His success in England further underscores the growing trend of top Premier League clubs targeting talent from Sporting CP, a pathway that has also produced notable transfers in recent seasons.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, Gyökeres’ performances will also place him firmly in contention as one of the tournament’s most closely watched attackers, adding further significance to what has already been a career-defining season at club level.