Viktor Gyokeres (27) continues to struggle to establish himself at Arsenal. The English believe that Mikel Arteta's style of play does not favor the main characteristics of the Swede.
In 21 matches, Gyokeres has scored only seven goals, and voices disputing the player's performance are increasing.
Viktor Gyokeres did not live up to expectations
Viktor Gyokeres' 97 goals in 102 games in his two seasons at Sporting had Arsenal fans believing a new star had arrived at the Emirates. But the truth is that the striker's first few months in the Premier League have not brought out the best in the goalscorer.
The BBC has analyzed the forward's season, noting difficulties in his integration into Mikel Arteta's scheme.
“There is a stark difference between Arsenal's style of play under Arteta and Sporting's, and at the halfway point of the season, he has only scored seven goals, including two from the penalty spot. As a result, many are of the opinion that he is not quite as good as he showed at Sporting. Gyokeres has the profile of a traditional centre-forward and Sporting were exploiting his physical qualities with long passes in depth, as short passing and combinations with teammates are not his best qualities,” the BBC article reads.
Viktor Gyokeres / Imago Images
“Arsenal build the game much more thoughtfully than Sporting, switching positions between players to confuse the opposition's defensive set-up. Arteta's side favor progressive foot passes over long passes, mainly because the area in front of the box is usually full of players and there is no space.
Gyokeres was therefore forced to play in very congested areas of the pitch, and the contrast with what he was doing at Sporting is obvious. Even so, Arsenal tried a few times to serve him in this way, but the athletic ability of Premier League defenders to recover very quickly forces the Swede, many times, to stop and resume the phase, something that rarely happened at Sporting”, the previously mentioned source states.
Viktor Gyokeres, during his time at Sporting Lisbon / photo: BBC
Although the overall picture is negative, the BBC highlighted what it considers to be the most positive aspect of the Swede's stay in London.
“Although he doesn't score as many goals, he has contributed to Arsenal's leadership. He has an enormous ability to press opposing defenders and cause errors when coming out of defence, which Arsenal have taken advantage of, as well as being tireless in his quest to create spaces for his team-mates to score,” concluded the aforementioned source.
7goals in 21 games managed Gyokeres for Arsenal
