Arsenal injury update: Viktor Gyokeres out for Champions League match against Slavia Prague

Arsenal will be without Viktor Gyokeres for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League 2025/26 match against Slavia Prague after the Swedish forward suffered a muscle injury last weekend, manager Mikel Arteta said on Monday.

Gyokeres scored the opener in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Burnley on Saturday, his fourth Premier League goal of the season, but did not feature for the second half, with Arteta confirming he would not feature in the Prague match.

“He is absolutely unavailable,” Arteta told reporters.

“He did not train today and we still need to do some tests and scans in the coming days to understand the extent of the injury, but he is not available for this match,” he added.

Gyokeres, who joined Arsenal from Sporting in July for €55 million, has made 13 appearances for the club this season in the domestic league and Champions League and his absence is a concern for the manager.

“Concern because he hasn’t had many muscle problems and he had to leave the field and he felt something,” Arteta said.

«That’s obviously never a good sign, especially for a player who is very, very explosive. So we’re still doing a little bit more research to understand where we stand in terms of the injury, and we’ll announce it as soon as we know more,» he added.

READ ALSO | FIFPro Men’s World XI: Yamal becomes youngest player to be named team of the year

Gyokeres scored 39 league goals for Sporting last season, along with six in the Champions League, and the Swede’s injury comes just as he looked set to hit his target at Arsenal.

Saturday’s goal was his first in the competition since September 13, and he also scored twice in the most recent Champions League match, a 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.

“Obviously after the game he was very disappointed with what he felt, but this is part of football,” Arteta said.

«If you expect a linear line, where everything goes up, that’s not going to happen. If he has something, he will have to deal with it; we will help him with that. He was at a very good time, in a very good form, very important for the team. But we don’t have him for tomorrow, so that’s all,» Arteta said.

Arsenal have won all three Champions League games this season without conceding a single goal, while Slavia are still without a win in the competitive phase of the competition and are on two points.

Published on November 4, 2025