Gyokeres hoping for cup final winner vs Manchester City

Viktor Gyokeres has admitted he’s hoping to add his name to the list of Swedish strikers to score League Cup-winning goals on Sunday.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal pushes teammate Viktor Gyokeres to celebrate after scoring his team's second goal during the Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on January 14, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) — Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Ahead of Arsenal’s cup final match against Manchester City on Sunday, it was put to Viktor Gyokeres that his home country have already produced a couple of League Cup-winning strikers.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a brace including the winning goal in Manchester United’s 2017 League Cup win over Southampton, and Alexander Isak scored what turned out to be the winning goal for Newcastle United against Liverpool last year.

“Yeah, they like to do it there, no?” Gyokeres responded. “[Adding my name to that list?] That would be good.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Alexander Isak of Newcastle United celebrates scoring his team's second goal as Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool looks dejected during the Carabao Cup Final between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium on March 16, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) — Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

Gyokeres grabbed a goal and assist in the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea, but he doesn’t have a long history at Wembley. He’s never played there with Sweden, and never previously played a cup final in England.

The striker’s one appearance at the stadium was in the play-off final between Coventry City and Luton Town, and it was a bittersweet occasion for the now-Arsenal man.

Gyokeres assisted Coventry’s equalising goal in the initial 1-1 draw, and he created another great chance that perhaps should have won the game, before scoring in the penalty shootout.

But Coventry lost the shootout all the same, and it turned out to be Gyokeres’ final game for the club as he was signed by Sporting CP that summer.

Sporting Lisbon's Swedish forward #09 Viktor Gyokeres celebrates scoring during the Portuguese League football match between Rio Ave FC and Sporting CP at the Rio Ave FC - Dos Arcos stadium in Vila do Conde, on February 25, 2024. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images) — Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images

Away from England, Gyokeres has been involved in three cup finals, scoring in two of them but only winning one.

The striker won and scored an absolutely vital penalty in the Taca de Portugal final against Benfica last season, converting in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time for 1-1. Sporting went on to win 3-1 in extra time.

Gyokeres also scored a penalty in the Allianz Cup final against Benfica in 2025, after he played in Maxi Araujo, who was fouled. The Swede also converted in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw, but Sporting lost anyway.

The striker’s only blank was in his other Taca de Portugal final against Porto, but he can perhaps be forgiven considering Sporting played 91 minutes of the tie with 10 men.

So between the four cup and play-off finals Gyokeres has featured in, he’s scored two goals and provided one assist in normal time, and he’s scored another two in shootouts.

Yet he’s only ended up on the winning side once, and he’s still lacking an open-play goal. He’ll want to change that on Sunday.