Viktor Gyokeres delivers ideal reply to Gary Neville following his blunt assessment of Arsenal.
The Swedish striker had a mixed debut but was trusted to start against Leeds in the absence of Kai Havertz.
Arsenal went into the break 2-0 ahead thanks to goals from Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka, yet Gary Neville, commentating for Sky Sports, wasn’t impressed with Gyokeres’ first competitive outing at the Emirates.
Neville remarked: “It’s been a struggle. He showed glimpses against United, though Matthijs de Ligt handled him superbly. Playing at Old Trafford is tough, but today worries me more. It’s early days, but he can’t allow negativity to build. The pressure is on—he’s expected to deliver 20 goals for Arsenal to challenge for the title. If this continues, the scrutiny will be immense. He needs that first goal. Beyond goalscoring, it’s about general play—neatness, link-up, awareness. Right now, he looks a little untidy.”
The stats backed that view: in the opening 42 minutes, Gyokeres had just 12 touches, with most coming deep in his own half and only one inside the opposition’s box.
But the second half transformed his evening. Just three minutes after the restart, he broke his duck—picking up the ball on the left, driving past two defenders, and drilling a shot into the far corner for 3-0. Timber later added his second, before Gyokeres sealed his brace from the penalty spot in stoppage time to round off a 5-0 victory.
Arteta’s take on Gyokeres:
Ahead of the Leeds match, Mikel Arteta said the forward was “in a really good place” despite his quiet debut against United. “We’ll be very happy when he starts scoring regularly. It’s on us as a team and staff to help him become more efficient. That United game was physically demanding and very open, and at that point we brought Kai on to change it. But Viktor’s ready, very enthusiastic, trained well, and looks in a really good place,” the manager explained.
