Alan Pardew says Arsenal fans should be ‘concerned’ about ‘brilliant’ star after Liverpool performance

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Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the new season away at Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners were competitive throughout at Anfield, although they lacked the offensive thrust to cause the home side serious issues in the final third.

Dominik Szoboszlai’s 83rd-minute free-kick proved to be the deciding moment in the encounter, with the Hungarian stepping up and curling a spectacular effort beyond David Raya.

The result sees Liverpool move three points clear of Arsenal after three matches.

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Alan Pardew says Arsenal should be ‘concerned’ about Viktor Gyokeres after Liverpool display

Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres for £63 million earlier this summer.

The Swede was brought in to provide Mikel Arteta with an alternative option to Kai Havertz up front, with the expectation being that he would score lots of goals for the North Londoners.

Gyokeres was poor against Manchester United, but responded to that difficult debut by netting twice in a win over Leeds.

However, he struggled at Anfield on Sunday, failing to get involved in the game consistently, finishing the match with just 17 touches.

Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew wasn’t impressed with what he saw from the 27-year-old, claiming Arsenal fans should be ‘concerned’ by the showing.

“Can I tell you what I’d be concerned about if I was an Arsenal fan – Gyokeres so far,” he said on talkSPORT.

“Yeah, looking at him I’m thinking, ‘I want more from you’. Sporting is different, they’re a great team, he was always going to get goals there, but he didn’t look quick today, he didn’t get past the centre-backs.

“It’s a concern whether this kid will step up and be that number nine Arsenal have been waiting for for three years.”

Arsenal fans don’t need to be overly concerned about Viktor Gyokeres

Alan Smith felt Gyokeres was ‘brilliant’ against Leeds, praising the forward’s movement in behind and the way in which he took his first goal.

In a game where Arsenal dominated possession and territory, the former Coventry man was able to thrive, finding the back of the net and posing a constant threat to the opposition.

However, against Liverpool, in a game in which neither the Gunners nor the Reds ventured into the penalty area very often, the striker was, predictably, much more peripheral.

As shown by the data above, Hugo Ekitike was equally as quiet as Gyokeres, clearly highlighting that this wasn’t a game for the strikers to shine.

If the Sweden international is as peripheral against Nottingham Forest at the Emirates in two weeks’ time, then Arsenal fans will have something to worry about, but not for now.