Alexander Isak vs Viktor Gyökeres
Sweden's front two, both from the Stockholm area, joined Liverpool and Arsenal in the summer of 2025; by September 2026 they had played a World Cup together but never faced each other.
By the Oddsivio teamLast reviewed Stats updated
Last 2 years to 12 Oct 2026 · club and country together · official matches
Who does what?
Viktor Gyökeres scores more goals and creates more chances over two years; they're level on assists. That said, Alexander Isak completes a higher share of passes (77% vs 70%).
Worth knowing: Viktor Gyökeres has 8,284 minutes to Alexander Isak's 5,223 over two years; the bigger sample is the steadier one.
What separates them
3 of 4 pass both our tests: a big enough gap, and sure enough to hold.
- Isak
- Gyökeres
- Typical forwards
- Goals per 90Gyökeres leads0.6437 goalsTop 4%0.8376 goalsTop 1%
About a quarter more goals: about 6 more over 30 full matches.
Held up next season: about 8 in 10
- Chances created per 90Gyökeres leads1.271 chancesBottom 48%1.5136 chancesTop 36%
About 8 more chances created over 30 full matches for Gyökeres than Isak.
Held up next season: about 7 in 10
- Assists per 90Level0.1911 assistsTop 28%0.2018 assistsTop 27%
Too small a gap against typical forwards to name a leader.
- Pass completion share of passes completedIsak leads77%Bottom 44%50%100%70%Bottom 16%
Pass completion depends a lot on role and team.
Held up next season: about 9 in 10
Per 90 = per 90 minutes played, so different minutes compare fairly.
Does it hold up?
Without penalties
Viktor Gyökeres still leads (0.63 vs 0.55 per 90; 58 goals to 32).
This season
Can't tell yet. Alexander Isak has 597 and Viktor Gyökeres has 579 of the 1,800 minutes we need this season.
How they play · volume, not a lead
Viktor Gyökeres wins more duels (4.0 vs 2.9 per 90) over two years.
Why this comparison
They have been team-mates in Sweden's senior side since October 2021, and for a while they were rivals for one place: three times in 2022 and 2023, Gyökeres came on for Isak. They first started together in March 2023. In the autumn of 2024 Sweden won their Nations League group, with nine goals from Gyökeres and four from Isak, and that result later earned a World Cup play-off after Sweden finished bottom of their 2025 qualifying group. They also won Guldbollen, Sweden's player of the year award, in successive years: Gyökeres for 2024 and Isak for 2025.
In the summer of 2025 both left their clubs after a stand-off, for rival Premier League clubs. Gyökeres missed Sporting's return to pre-season training and joined Arsenal on 26 July; Isak missed Newcastle's tour of Asia, said that promises to him had been broken, and joined Liverpool on deadline day, 1 September, for a reported £125m, then a British record. Their first seasons at Arsenal and Liverpool went very differently. Gyökeres scored 21 goals in all competitions as Arsenal won the league for the first time in 22 years, while Isak scored four in a season broken up by ankle surgery in December, and Liverpool finished fifth.
Every number · over two years · ranks among forwards
| IsakAlexander Isak | Stat | GyökeresViktor Gyökeres |
|---|---|---|
5,223 | Minutes | 8,284 |
76 | Matches | 116 |
45.05Rotation · 40 club games · as of 2026-10-12 | Current squad importance | 43.88Backup · 40 club games · as of 2026-10-12 |
0.6437 in total Top 4% | goals per 90 | 0.8376 in total Top 1% |
0.1911 in total Top 28% | assists per 90 | 0.2018 in total Top 27% |
1.271 in total Bottom 48% | chances created per 90 | 1.5136 in total Top 36% |
2.6149 in total Top 7% | shots per 90 | 2.5232 in total Top 8% |
2.4138 in total Top 46% | take-ons tried per 90 | 2.3215 in total Top 47% |
0.528 in total Bottom 11% | tackles per 90 | 0.323 in total Bottom 2% |
0.17 in total Bottom 8% | interceptions per 90 | 0.18 in total Bottom 5% |
2.9166 in total Bottom 6% | duels won per 90 | 4.0371 in total Bottom 27% |
77% Bottom 44% | pass completion | 70% Bottom 16% |
Goals and assists are counted from match events; the other counts come from the provider's detailed match stats. Ranks are among forwards with 1,800+ minutes over two years. Squad importance describes the current club role over its recent club-game window; it is independent of the comparison window.
Have they played each other?
By September 2026 they had never faced each other in a competitive match. Until Isak joined Liverpool, no competitive game had put their clubs of the time against each other, and both Liverpool–Arsenal league games of 2025–26 went ahead without Isak: on 31 August 2025 he was still a Newcastle player, a day before joining Liverpool, and on 8 January 2026 he was recovering from surgery on an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture. Their first chance was scheduled for 1 November 2026, Liverpool v Arsenal at Anfield. They first played together for Sweden's senior team in October 2021, and up to 25 September 2026 they had played 21 competitive games together. The team-mates list below holds all 21.
Looking up their matches…
What the numbers don't show
Our lineup data puts almost all of both players' minutes at striker, but they fill the role differently. Jon Dahl Tomasson, Sweden's coach until October 2025, told Sky Sports that Gyökeres's runs into the channels and Isak's runs in behind were both "on an extremely high level". Graham Potter, his successor, told Sky Sports in June 2026 that in Portugal Gyökeres played "a lot on the last line", attacking big spaces, while Isak is "able to drift wider" and at Newcastle also played as a No 10. Isak told Fotbollskanalen at the 2026 World Cup that with Gyökeres on the pitch he feels best moving around him and into pockets of space, which makes him more of a dropping player and a distributor than a runner in behind, though he is less comfortable on the wing or as a No 10.
At the 2026 World Cup, where both played all four of Sweden's games, FIFA's tracking clocked Gyökeres's top speed at 34.75 km/h and Isak's at 32.61 km/h, and had Gyökeres making 177 sprints to Isak's 155. From the penalty spot, Opta Analyst counted Gyökeres's penalty against Atlético Madrid in April 2026 as his 27th successful one in a row; Transfermarkt lists Isak with 19 scored and six missed in his career, none of them for Liverpool by September 2026.
Their injury records are far apart. Over the three seasons to 2025–26, Transfermarkt lists Gyökeres missing 10 games through injury and Isak 47, 24 of them with the ankle injury he suffered in December 2025. Isak had already scored 23 league goals for Newcastle in 2024–25, second only to Mohamed Salah, when he moved to Liverpool. Gyökeres came from 39 league goals in 33 games for Sporting that season, without a Premier League appearance behind him, and scored 14 in 36 in his first Premier League season.
Estimated value
Viktor Gyökeres's Oddsivio estimated value is higher: €67m (#54 of 9,335 players valued) to Alexander Isak's €58m (#82 of 9,335 players valued). Isak's estimate rose 4% since season start; Gyökeres's estimate dipped 35% since season start.Oddsivio estimated value — a model estimate from recent performance data, not betting advice.
Alexander Isak
Oddsivio estimated value
€58m
+4% since season start
#82 of 9,335 players valued#45 of 495 in the Premier League
Viktor Gyökeres
Oddsivio estimated value
€67m
−35% since season start
#54 of 9,335 players valued#32 of 495 in the Premier League
Questions fans ask
Have Isak and Gyökeres played together for Sweden?
Yes, though never for a club. From September 2023 they started every Sweden game both played except one, and they set each other up four times in the 2024–25 Nations League and once each way in the 5–1 win over Tunisia at the 2026 World Cup, where FIFA named Isak player of the match. Asked in June 2026 about talk of friction between them, Gyökeres told Fotbollskanalen it did not feel like there was much.
Have Isak and Gyökeres ever played against each other?
Not by September 2026. Before then Isak had faced Arsenal five times for Newcastle, winning three and scoring twice: the only goal of a 1–0 win in November 2024, and the opener in a 2–0 League Cup semi-final first-leg win at the Emirates in January 2025. Gyökeres had played Liverpool twice for Arsenal, a 1–0 defeat at Anfield and a 0–0 draw, without scoring.
Who is better, Isak or Gyökeres?
The writing here doesn't choose; the verdict at the top of the page comes from the numbers for the window you pick. What it can't settle is the kind of striker you want: As their coaches and Isak describe it, Gyökeres mostly attacks the big spaces on the last line, while Isak, when they play together, moves around Gyökeres, drifts wide and drops in to link the play. Potter, Sweden's coach since October 2025, called them "different in their styles, which I think is good for us".
Who has scored more goals for Sweden?
By 25 September 2026 Gyökeres had 22 goals in 38 games for Sweden and Isak 19 in 63, by Transfermarkt's count; Isak made his debut in January 2017. Gyökeres scored four of Sweden's six goals in the March 2026 play-offs that took them to the World Cup, including the late winner against Poland, while Isak was out injured. Both scored in the 2–1 win over Romania on 25 September 2026.
Why did Arsenal sign Gyökeres and not Isak?
Arsenal didn't say, but the reporting at the time points several ways. BBC Sport reported in May 2025 that Isak was at the top of Mikel Arteta's wishlist but that signing him would wipe out most of Arsenal's budget, with Gyökeres and Benjamin Sesko the alternatives, and in July that Newcastle's message was that Isak was not for sale and that Gyökeres was now Arsenal's priority. The Daily Mail had reported internal concerns at Arsenal over Isak's injury record in December 2024. Sporting's own filing to Portugal's market regulator put Gyökeres's fixed fee at €65.8m, plus up to €10.3m more.
How old and how tall are Isak and Gyökeres?
Gyökeres is the older, by about 15 months: he was born in Stockholm on 4 June 1998, and Isak in Solna, also in the Stockholm area, on 21 September 1999. They are about the same height, 1.89 m for Gyökeres and 1.90 m for Isak by Transfermarkt's measure, and both are right-footed.