Mikel Arteta spells out the reality Viktor Gyökeres now faces at Arsenal
Although Arsenal have had a brilliant start to the season, it seems that is not the case for one of their new stars.
Arsenal currently top the Premier League and Champions League tables and are slowly widening a significant gap between them and the rest of the competition.
However, Viktor Gyokeres has not contributed as much as he would like.
Yes, Gyokeres has scored a few goals here and there, but has been largely ineffective when it matters most. The Swedish striker hasn’t really scored any big goals – although he has scored in some big games, these have come when Arsenal were already in an advantageous and comfortable position.
This, in turn, led to a lot of attention towards Gyokeres, who was the subject of criticism from the media, fans and the rest of the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta explains the reality Viktor Gyökeres now faces at Arsenal
Manager Mikel Arteta was asked about this and he was kind enough to point out the harsh reality of Gyokeres’ situation.
He said: “He’s going to continue to make a lot of noise around him over the next five years. From day one you sign a number nine for Arsenal with the experience he has. It’s part of life to be Arsenal’s number nine and that’s it.”
Arteta is perfect with his quotes, as he almost always is. Gyokeres, no matter how well he performs at Arsenal, will always be under some sort of scrutiny from now on.
Arsenal players are often in the spotlight, and only because of that, every player who plays for the club is looked at in the same light.
Now the problem with Gyokeres is that he is one of the best players in the world at his position, and he signed for Arsenal for a pretty high fee, so all this will only make the situation slightly worse for him.
That wasn’t a bad thing to say from Arteta either, as it has nothing to do with his form. Yes, it’s not to the level any Arsenal fan wants, but people usually find a way to see something bad in good players, and Gyokeres will be no different.
Arteta also recently defended Gyokeres and reassured him that the goals would come.
He said: “(He is) mentally very strong. When I see him training every day, how he behaves in meetings, how well he wants to do, the way he works every game… it will click! One thing is missing at the moment, scoring more goals.”
Good stuff, and once again this will be added to the list of things Gyokeres needs to work around.