Viktor Gyokeres given Premier League reality check on Arsenal debut as new £63.5million star fails to even have a shot

VIKTOR GYOKERES was given a reality check on his Arsenal debut as the £63.5million striker failed to have a shot against Manchester United.

Gyokeres struggled to make any impact as the Gunners scraped a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

But how did Arsenal fare in general in their opening game of the season?

SunSport’s Charlie Wyett assesses the situation…

NEW SIGNINGS

Gyokeres has room for improvement, putting it mildly.

His last competitive game in this country was the 2023 Championship play-off final between Coventry and Derby and his Premier League debut will also be a day he will be keen to forget.

He worked hard enough and did try and get in behind the United defence but the Swede was given little service in what was a poor performance from the title hopefuls.

Gyokeres was decent in the Emirates Cup win over Athletic Bilbao which shows you exactly why we should never take too much from pre-season.

Against Manchester United, the striker who is supposed to turn Arsenal into title winners, while admittedly getting very little service, failed to even have a shot.

The £63.5million signing didn’t contribute much to make up for his lack of threat up top either.

For all he ran and tried to assert himself, Gyokores only managed to complete four passes to his new team-mates, while giving the ball away five times.

Mikel Arteta is hoping the former Sporting Lisbon man can be the dominant presence that Arsenal have been missing up front.

But here the 27-year-old won just three duels against United’s unheralded defence, losing ten.

Martin Zubimendi also starred in that final game of pre-season but he really struggled here and failed to protect his defence.

The arrival from Real Sociedad was given an instant introduction into the speed and physicality of the Premier League when he was caught in the face by Bryan Mbuemo in the opening 30 seconds.

The Spaniard threw himself to the ground and tried to win a free-kick, referee Simon Hooper was having none of it

Another new arrival, Noni Madueke, failed to make an impact when arriving as a sub but it would not be a surprise if we see him starting games quite soon.

SET-PIECES

New season, new set-piece routine.

Since the start of 2023-24, Arsenal have scored 31 Premier League goals from corners – at least 11 more than any other side.

Although Arsenal’s first goal of the season was thanks to Altay Bayindir’s clanger, Arteta used a different type of routine.

We had seen this a few times in pre-season with five players lining up on the edge of the penalty although the goal came from Riccardo Calafiori who was already lurking near the back post and was able to get the final touch.

The one thing that might really hurt Arsenal offensively this season is the new clampdown on pushing and shoving in the penalty area, something they do a lot.

Although both teams were guilty of grappling with opposing players, Simon Hooper let a few things go – but not all officials will be the same.

NEXT UP – LEEDS

Arteta will have plenty to ponder before sending his team out to face newly-promoted Leeds at the Emirates on Saturday evening.

Although battles against Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle are on the horizon in a nasty opening sequence of fixtures, Arsenal will be expected to deliver a much better performance than what we saw at Old Trafford, where they were incredibly lucky to win.

This game will give Gyokeres a terrific chance to score his first goal in the Premier League.

Equally, Zubimendi should keep his place although already, Gabriel Martinelli surely knows his place is under threat with Madueke itching to make an impression.

Although he scored the winner, Calafiori kept going walkabout at left back leaving Gabriel Magalhaes exposed on the left of central defence.

This is why Myles Lewis-Skelly, who will probably have been peed off in not starting this game, might be given a run-out against Daniel Farkes’ team.