Mikel Arteta already proven right on Viktor Gyokeres claim after just two Arsenal games

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Plenty has been said about Viktor Gyokeres already at Arsenal, with some attention placed on just how well he can settle into the Premier League.

The striker position was one that the Gunners needed to fill, with both injuries and a lack of clinical edge costing them in recent seasons.

For many, the hope is that Viktor Gyokeres is the answer to that, having shown his goalscoring feats while at Sporting CP.

A difficult debut for Gyokeres against Manchester United raised some early questions about how he may settle in the Premier League, though it was only one match.

Fast forward to Arsenal’s win over Leeds, and a few of those concerns have been quietened.

A Gyokeres brace not only got him off the mark, but it proved Mikel Arteta right about one thing, too.

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Mikel Arteta already proven right with Viktor Gyokeres penalty claim

The arrival of Viktor Gyokeres has brought about plenty of questions surrounding where he will fit in the Arsenal team when it comes to certain duties.

The main one is penalties, as Bukayo Saka has been the main taker from the spot, while Martin Odegaard has also stepped up on occasions.

While it was unclear exactly who would step up when needed, Arteta certainly hinted at Gyokeres being the penalty taker earlier in the week.

When asked by ESPN Brazil who the best penalty taker in the squad was, he simply said: “Viktor Gyokeres”.

It was an early hint at what was to come, even with Odegaard and Saka injured and not on the pitch, as Gyokeres stepped up.

The Swedish international rifled his shot into the bottom left corner, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way in the process.

It was an impressive effort that shows exactly why Arteta backed Gyokeres as the best penalty taker in the squad.

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Viktor Gyokeres’ penalty record so far

It’s fair to say that Gyokeres has a great penalty record in his career so far, having taken 35 across his senior career so far.

32 of those penalties were scored, with the latest for the striker coming in Arsenal’s win over Leeds in the league.

He missed one in each of the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, but he was perfect through the 2024/25 season.

It’s the sort of reliable record every manager wants, especially in the sort of high pressure moments Arsenal will face this season.