Mikel Arteta defends Viktor Gyokeres with brutal message to Arsenal teammates
Mikel Arteta has suggested other Arsenal players should provide better service to Viktor Gyokeres after his struggles against Wolves.
Mikel Arteta has defended Viktor Gyokeres’ performance against Wolves and instead partly blamed his struggles on other Arsenal stars. The Gunners cruised to a 2-1 victory on Saturday night, with all three goals coming in the final 20 minutes and the decisive goal coming deep into added time.
A lucky Sam Johnstone own goal from a Bukayo Saka corner gave Arsenal the lead before Tolu Arokodare equalized in the dying moments of normal time. Nonetheless, Yerson Mosquera accidentally nodded into his own net in the fourth minute of injury time to secure all three points for Arsenal.
Against the Premier League’s basement club, Arsenal were far from peak performance, with Arteta acknowledging this and explaining why they may have struggled.
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He said: “We knew it would be a difficult game, especially if we couldn’t score early. We had a lot of situations in the first half, a huge chance for Martinelli, two meters out, completely free and we didn’t score.
“But we struggled once we got to those danger zones to find a red shirt in the box. We had a lot of situations and we didn’t generate a lot of clear chances.
“In the second half we did a little better, we scored the goal. But then we had periods of three minutes deep, so passive, with very bad defensive habits. It’s not acceptable for our level because we didn’t concede a single shot until that moment. The first time they do it, they score a goal. It’s the Premier League.
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“We are very aware of that and need to improve that because at the very end we are counting on individual action, very chaotic action to score the goal and win the match, and the margin should have been bigger.”
Wolves used a low defensive block effectively at the Emirates Stadium, which left Gyokeres with minimal involvement.
He managed just 15 touches in his 81 minutes on the pitch, but Arteta chose to suggest his teammates could do more to support him.
On Gyokeres needing to contribute more while also requiring service, Arteta said: “It’s a collaboration between the two. He was in a lot of really good positions and the ball didn’t come into the box quickly enough, accurately enough or just with the precision required for a No.9 to score the goal.
“But his work rate and his intentions were there and we have to keep pushing.”
The only significant setback of the encounter was Ben White’s hamstring injury, with Arteta providing an update after the match.
He admitted: “It looks like a hamstring, so we don’t know the extent of that, but probably tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we’ll know more.”
Injuries have ravaged Arsenal’s 2025/26 campaign with Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and William Saliba all question marks heading into the weekend.
Arteta even admitted it was a gamble to field the latter after being absent in recent weeks.
“We even had to take risks today, Willy, because it probably wasn’t their best goal to play 90 minutes because we were buying tickets for another injury, but we don’t have anyone else.”