Viktor Gyokeres [Jay Patel/SPP]

VIKTOR Gyokeres is using the international break to remind Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta the firepower that he’s leaving sitting on the bench.

The striker has been in sensational form for Sweden, scoring two goals in two games. It takes the 28-year-old’s overall tally for his country to 23 goals in just 39 appearances.

These are the kind of stats that call into question Arteta’s decision to give Gyokeres just 29 minutes’ playing time in the Premier League this season.

Perhaps Arteta should reach out to Sweden manager Graham Potter to find out the secret to getting the very best out of Gyokeres.

Potter already shared one tip when he was asked if he was tempted to rest the forward during the new-look extended international break.

He jokingly told Nordic streaming service Viaplay: “He has an extra day to recover, these guys are used to playing on a tight schedule.

“If I told Viktor I wanted to rest him, he would probably rip my head off!”

Gyokeres quickly replied, stressing: “I may not rip his head off – we need his head. But it’s clear you want to play.”

What is also clear is that Arteta favours Kai Havertz over Gyokeres. Havertz has played almost every single minute in the Premier League this term, bagging two goals from his five starts. But Havertz is now a doubt for Arsenal’s next match against Leeds United on October 10 after returning early from international duty with a suspected hamstring injury picked up during Germany’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in the Nations League.

It potentially opens the door for Arteta to hand Gyokeres his first league start of the season.

Gyokeres, who joined the Gunners from Sporting in a £55m deal in the summer of 2025, scored 21 goals in his debut season in north London.

However, that clearly wasn’t good enough as he then had to sit back this summer and seemingly watch the Premier League champions chase a new striker – Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez was constantly rumoured to be at the top of Arsenal’s wishlist.

Facing the media this week, Gyokeres insisted that he never considered leaving Arsenal, adding that his sole focus is earning his place back in Arteta’s starting line-up.

He said: “Of course, there was a lot of speculation. 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.

“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 very good players.”