Following his big-money move to Arsenal in the summer, there has already been plenty of scrutiny on Viktor Gyokeres. The Swedish forward bagged two goals, both against Leeds United, in his first three Premier League games.
This is a tidy return, but the striker struggled to get heavily involved in play during the 1-0 away win against Manchester United or the 1-0 away defeat to Liverpool. At this stage, it's fair to suggest he simply needs a little more time to adapt to life in the English top-flight, reach full fitness and gel with his new teammates.
That said, having arrived for a notable fee of £55m, and with Mikel Arteta's team desperate to finally win the Premier League, the 27-year-old won't be afforded too much time to settle in. There's so much interest in his performances, in fact, that some fans even kept a careful eye on Gyokeres as he lined up for Sweden during the current international break.
Gyokeres Grabs Assist vs Slovenia
With new Liverpool striker Alexander Isak left on the bench, Gyokeres was given the full 90 minutes against Slovenia to impress. While he didn't get on the score sheet, the Arsenal star did grab an assist for his team's second goal.
This was enough to help Sweden pick up a point in a 2-2 draw away from home, with Anthony Elanga opening the scoring before Slovenia hit back through Sandi Lovric. Gyokeres then set up Yasin Ayari to put his side ahead before Zan Vipotnik netted a 90th-minute equaliser.
The Arsenal man can't be given too much credit for the assist, but fans will be pleased to see him far more heavily involved with 47 touches, 20/31 passes, not to mention one key pass. Against Liverpool, for comparison, he managed just 17 touches and completed only 5/7 passes.
Even in his fine two-goal display against Leeds United, Gyokeres managed to complete just four passes from 24 touches. In that game, it showed that his greatest skill, beyond anything else, is putting the ball in the back of the net, but fans would perhaps like to see him more involved. They made this point having watched his display against Slovenia.
Fans Point Out What Needs to Change at Arsenal For Gyokeres
gyokeres sweden
The general consensus on Gyokeres' performance for Sweden in their World Cup qualifier was that he was able to show more of his skills simply because he was more involved. Many Arsenal fans made a point of saying how Arteta's team ought to play more to his strenghts if they want to get the best out of him. One remarked:
"He was passed to more in that first half than he has been the last 3 prem games combined. Need to get him actually involved in a game."
Another said: "Gyokeres is a top-tier striker, he only needs the ball at his feet." One more wrote: "Arsenal should start linking this guy more balls."
Somebody else added: "We’ve got a mobile, agile, dribbly, 100x more clinical version of Giroud." Another wrote:
"If there is anything I can deduce from this video, it's the need for Arsenal to play faster for Gyokeres to thrive."
A final fan summed up the feeling for many supporters, writing: "I understand that this is national team football against a lower ranked team but for people who barely play together in a year, they get him more involved. Probably has more touches in this game than he had all 3 games for Arsenal."
Stats via SofaScore