Viktor Gyokeres: Why didn’t the Arsenal striker succeed at Brighton early in his career? | Football news

Brighton generally don’t go wrong with young players. After all, the quintet of Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Joao Pedro, Ben White and Alexis Mac Allister have brought in £300million in transfer fees over the past four years.

But the Seagulls had Viktor Gyokeres on their books and sold him for just £1m to Coventry in 2021. He has since become a £20m player at Sporting CP – then a £63.5m marquee signing for Arsenal. And now he is the holder of the Gerd Muller Trophy after scoring more goals than any player in 2025.

“We knew there was top talent there – as was subsequently proven,” said Paul Barber, Brighton’s chief executive. Aerial sports about the front. So why isn’t Gyokeres part of a long list of Seagull success stories?

The Swedish striker looks like a classic Brighton signing – plucked from obscurity and blessed with huge potential. But he left them with just eight first-team appearances to his name, none in the Premier League and just one goal.

He was also part of a successful Brighton Under-23 team that won promotion to the Premier League 2 in 2018. Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was part of that team, while his now Arsenal teammate White shared Brighton youth responsibilities alongside Gyokeres.

The first thing to note about Gyokeres’ time at Brighton is that he was not a striker. He was a winger. “He could play in the middle but he played more on the left,” Josh Kerr explains to Aerial sportswho played with the striker in Brighton’s youth team.

“He played as a striker from time to time, but we had Aaron Connolly who was really good. If we had both – and we always played 4-3-3 – we knew Viktor could play on the left wing and could step in.”

This meant that Gyokeres’ first four senior appearances for Brighton came in that left-wing position. But just because it now appears the Swede was playing out of position doesn’t mean he couldn’t show his quality.

“We obviously rated him highly at the time, but we didn’t think he would kick as much as he did, which has been pretty amazing,” Kerr said.

“He was adjusting to life in England. But we could see a difference month after month each time.

“You could see the traits of what you see now. He would always drift, constantly wanting to achieve his goal.”

This position has influenced Gyokeres’ career so far. Many of his goals come from runs from the left channel. It became a fixture during his time at Sporting – and even his first goal for Arsenal against Leeds came from a channel running through that flank.

“He’s probably one of the most ruthless players I’ve seen when he’s on the halfway line and he’s going to score from the left,” Kerr said.

“It was just the pace and the power, sometimes the teams couldn’t manage that.”

This left winger position has also helped Gyokeres’ overall game. “You want your wingers to react and help your backs – doing the thankless task of doubling when you get to some of those tricky away pitches,” Kerr recalls.

“He would do it without you having to ask him – which is huge for some teams or managers.

“He was just a good guy and that’s what you get from him. He works hard, does his job for the team.”

This is relevant today in his role at Arsenal. During a seven-game goal drought, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and the striker’s teammates in north London have highlighted the selfless work Gyokeres has brought to the team.

At Brighton he eventually found himself in the first team centre-forward role, making three Carabao Cup starts in the 2020-21 season under Graham Potter, who is now his national team coach with Sweden.

He scored a goal and an assist in the second round win over Portsmouth, and even started the fourth round defeat to Manchester United, with future Arsenal teammates White and Leandro Trossard also involved.

But it would be his last game for Brighton. First team outings have dried up for the striker. It not only worked for Gyokeres, but also for Kerr – who is the same age as the Swede and now works as an agent for CAA Base, after retiring early due to injury.

“They weren’t playing expansive football at that point,” says Kerr. “It was more about survival, so we never really saw that many boys coming through to the first team in those seasons.

“They just weren’t going to play with the younger boys while they were trying to survive. Once they became an established Premier League club then they could start drip-feeding the boys.

“So I think it was a question of timing. If we had had a few more years at Brighton we would have been a bit luckier.”

Loans to Swansea and Coventry gave Gyokeres more senior football. His time in Wales saw more playing time as a left winger, and when both moves failed to ignite the world, Gyokeres and Brighton decided to part ways.

“Viktor progressed exceptionally well, but he wanted to progress even faster,” recalls Brighton CEO Barber.

“At that time we couldn’t guarantee him playing in the first team here. We were very happy to continue to loan Viktor out so that he could continue to progress.

“But I think the fact that he wanted a more permanent base earlier says a lot about Viktor himself. He ultimately got that and the rest is history.”

The £1m fee paid by Coventry for Brighton ended up being a turning point for the player. The confidence he gained as a center forward for the Sky Blues in the Championship has sparked a major change.

His physique increased during the summer he moved permanently. “He really tried hard,” Kerr says. “He’s a real machine. He’s shredded!”

The goals also poured in. His famous celebration originated at Coventry, with the striker himself admitting this season that the creation of the ‘mask’ coincided with the improvement in his goalscoring record.

Gyokeres still has fond memories of Brighton. That proved to be the case when Kerr was on an agent’s assignment in Slovenia last September and saw Sweden play a World Cup qualifier during his stay.

He messaged Gyokeres – with whom he had shared a room at a youth tournament in Hong Kong – for a ticket and the striker immediately delivered it.

“Some people would go the other way and say, ‘I’m too good for that now,'” Kerr says. “But it shows he has a level head and can deal with people he knows.”

But do Brighton regret letting the Gyokeres escape their reckoning?

“It depends on whether you say you slipped or progressed,” says Barber. “I would prefer to say that I have progressed.

“It’s always good to spot young talent, nurture them and see them progress to even better things.

“We wish him good luck, apart from a few games this season!”

Watch Arsenal v Brighton in the Carabao Cup fourth round live on Sky Sports+ this Wednesday from 7.30pm; kick-off at 7:45 p.m.