Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has defended Viktor Gyokeres for his underwhelming performance in Sunday's Premier League clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Sweden international was given the nod through the middle against Man United on the opening weekend of the new campaign following a big-money move to the Emirates Stadium from Sporting Lisbon.
Gyokeres' pre-season performances have seen him face early criticism at Arsenal, while he found it difficult to make his mark in his side's 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
According to Sofascore, the forward had just 21 touches - only three of which were in the box - while he lost possession 11 times and only managed to complete four of his nine passes.
However, Arteta insisted that the former Coventry City foward "did a lot of things very good".
"Well, he did a lot of things very good. You can tell, especially in our high-pressing rhythm that we demand that, especially in the first hour," Arteta told reporters during his post-match press conference.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta at a press conference on February 20, 2024
Arteta defends Gyokeres after difficult debut against Man United
"Again, he took too much time. It's something that we have to work on him, especially there. And then, yeah, finalising situation, he didn't have that many chances to do that because, as I said, on the previous action, before we had to play that last ball that the line was standing still with 40 metres behind, we then managed to put the ball through to exploit his quality.
"But overall, I mean, coming away to Manchester United, winning your first game with Arsenal, it's a good start."
Arsenal struggled to find their rhythm for long stages of the clash at Old Trafford, but a first-half goal from Riccardo Calafiori proved to be enough to secure all three points.
Arteta hailed his side for demonstrating their ability to win matches when they are not at their best.
"A big, big result coming into the first game of the season against [Manchester United at] Old Trafford. When you feel that they are building something special and momentum with the new signings and they want to kick on the season in a good way and you are able to come away with the win, I think I'm very happy I'm part of the team," he said.
"We showed it in a different way today. I think we did two things very well. One, to take the set-piece and then react to especially mistakes. Some of them are necessary, some of them unusual.
"But the way every single player reacted to that gives us the opportunity to win the game. If not, it's impossible. And that's about how we compete and how much we want to take it."
Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres celebrates on August 9, 2025
Gyokeres' goal record suggests he will come good for Arsenal
Gyokeres scored 97 goals and registered 28 assists in 102 appearances for Sporting, which are stunning numbers.
It is true that the majority of those goals - 68 - came in Portugal's top flight, which is simply nowhere near the level of the Premier League, but he also has a record of six goals in eight Champions League appearances.
The 27-year-old must be given time to settle into his new surroundings at the Emirates Stadium, and while he struggled against Man United, his goal record suggests that there are good times ahead for him in a red shirt.
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