£45m star who plays ‘a bit like Henry’ could end Joe Keles’ Arsenal career

Arsenal got back on track in the best way possible with a 3-0 win over Club Brugge on Wednesday night.

Sure, there were moments when the Belgian side looked dangerous, but ultimately it was a commanding performance from manager Mikel Arteta that saw the Belgian side maintain a 100% record in the Champions League.

There were also great performances from players who need to step up, such as Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli.

However, one starter who did not do that and is now at risk of falling further down Arsenal’s pecking order is Victor Goqueres.

Gokeres previous seasons

When Arsenal finally signed Gokeres in the summer, there was considerable excitement among fans, partly due to the uproar surrounding the transfer, but mainly because of his unreal performances in Portugal.

After all, the Swedish “powerhouse,” as analyst Ben Mattinson dubbed him, racked up 97 goals and 28 assists in 102 games and 8,417 minutes in just two seasons.

That’s an average of 1.22 goals per game, or one goal every 67.33 minutes, an impressive number that could be said to have had some promise this season.

Unfortunately, the Stockholm-born international has not lived up to expectations so far anyway.

Unlike other Swedish strikers who moved this year, he certainly didn’t do badly, but his return with six goals in 18 appearances was far from the numbers fans had hoped for.

Additionally, the 27-year-old needs to get into dangerous positions more often and keep possession of the ball better, although some of the blame lies with his team-mates for not creating enough clear-cut chances.

Wednesday night’s game was one of his worst performances in this regard, as he did little on and off the ball, taking just 12 touches and completing just five passes.

That said, there is still time for the once prolific striker to shine. Still, he will have to start improving quickly, as there is another player in the team who has been compared to Thierry Henry in the past and who could leapfrog him in the standings.

Arsenal star is bad news for Gokeres’ career at the Emirates

The unfortunate situation for Gokeres is that, injury permitting, he has some strong competition for the starting striker spot.

Of course, there’s also Kai Havertz, who scored 15 goals last year before his season ended due to injury, and Mikel Merino, who is enjoying scoring goals in 2025.

However, Wednesday night heralded the return of a third rival, £45m Gabriel Jesus, who many fans had effectively written off in the summer.

The Brazilian returned to the first team for the first time in 322 days after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and although he didn’t score against Club Brugge, he looked full of life.

In fact, over 30-odd minutes of play, the former Manchester City ace looked far more threatening than Gokeres, with two shots on target and one that hit the wooden frame.

Additionally, he had eight more touches and made important passes than the Swede, completing 14 passes and helping connect the play in a way that made his team look more fluid.

Now, while he played against a tired defense, it’s probably too early to say he should start next game, but the 28-year-old is now a strong candidate for the role. This is because if the conditions are good, it can become a threat.

For example, in 97 appearances for the North Londoners, he has scored 26 goals and provided 20 assists, which represents a very impressive average of being involved in a goal every 2.10 games.

Furthermore, although he does not have the physicality of the former Sporting star, he is much more graceful on the ball and, in the words of Ray Parlor, “a bit like the Thierry Henry of old, drifting to the left quite often”.

After all, there’s still plenty of season left, but based on what fans have seen so far, it’s a real possibility that as long as Jesus stays healthy, he could move ahead of Joe Keles in the pecking order and even end his Arsenal career.