It has been a mixed international break for Arsenal.
Kai Havertz, Christos Tzolis and Max Dowman all picked up injuries to deplete an already-thin forward line. Ezri Konsa, signed as a replacement for the injured William Saliba, also withdrew from the England camp due to a fitness-related issue.
With a glass half-full hat on, positives can be taken from Myles Lewis-Skelly starting three of England's four matches. It was the first time he was deployed in midfield by Thomas Tuchel. Martín Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze, who have been on the fringes of the Arsenal squad so far, also picked up valuable minutes while Riccardo Calafiori scored his first goal for Italy over the break.
But by far the most eye-catching and intriguing Arsenal player in the past three weeks has been Viktor Gyökeres, who scored in each of Sweden's four games and became the first player to get on the scoresheet in seven successive Nations League matches.
His performances for Sweden mark a sharp contrast to his start to the season for Arsenal, where he has managed just 29 minutes across their first five matches. In three of those, he didn't even come off the bench. Beyond serving as a reminder of his qualities, Gyökeres' return to form is especially well-timed considering Havertz's injury.
But Mikel Merino's recent exploits for Spain mean Gyökeres isn't a shoo-in for a starting spot against Leeds United on the weekend. Merino scored three times for Spain over the break, including a brace to seal a comeback win over Croatia. The second of those strikes was a sensational two-touch finish that once again made you question how it took so long for his conversion from a deep-lying midfielder role.
Merino's exploits for Arsenal in previous years and for Spain at the World Cup have meant his abilities have never been put under the microscope. His importance at Arsenal is underlined by the fact that he wore the captain's armband in the Carabao Cup against Ipswich earlier this season.
Gyökeres, however, is a different case and has more riding on this upcoming block of fixtures that will see Arsenal play nine times in the next month.
Make-or-break season for Gyökeres?
Gyökeres' first Arsenal goals came in a home win over Saturday's opponents, Leeds United. The first of the two that August afternoon saw him bulldoze between two players before firing into the bottom corner. At that moment, it felt like the Gunners had found their solution to the centre-forward problem.
But, the Swede scored just twice more until the turn of the year and finished the season with 14 league goals. His contribution was key in Arsenal winning their first league title in 22 years but, it wasn't the return on the €63 million the club had shelled out to sign him from Sporting CP.
Despite the growing online discourse around his performances (and first touch), he was afforded patience by the Emirates crowd in his debut season. The supporters wanted him to succeed and moments of simple hold-up play or pressing would often be cheered to help build his confidence. There was an element of necessity to this as well. With Havertz and Merino missing large chunks of the season through injury, Gyökeres had to shoulder all of the attacking load and ended up making 40 starts in all competitions.
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The combination of clinching the Premier League title and the Champions League final defeat saw ambitions broaden over the summer. Arsenal aggressively, and ultimately unsuccessfully, pursued Vinícius Júnior and Julián Álvarez to revamp their forward line. As was the fate suffered by Gabriel Martinelli, Gyökeres felt similarly at risk of being collateral damage as the club sought to take the next step in their ascent.
The Swede was needed to help end Arsenal's title drought. But, is he the forward to help them mount a dual push for domestic and European success?
The start to the season made clear that Arteta had his doubts about that, with Havertz clearly being his first-choice up front. The problem for Gyökeres was that when he did come onto the pitch, he looked on a completely different wavelength to the rest of the team.
His first start of the season came against Napoli in the Champions League, and he managed just nine touches across 73 minutes. In his start against Ipswich in the Carabao Cup, he had 18 touches. Across both of these games, there was just a singular shot on target.
Compare this to his four starts for Sweden in this international window, where he averaged more than three shots and 37 touches per game.
"Sometimes a change of context, a change of environment can help a player. We're all looking forward to having Viktor with us and helping him enjoy his football," Sweden boss Graham Potter said of Gyökeres before the international break.
His time with Sweden has indeed proved fruitful. Now, he needs to carry that form over for his club. It was against Leeds that his Arsenal career got lift-off and it's the same opposition against whom he will be hoping to reignite it.