Mikel Arteta says he was constantly having ‘nightmares’ when Arsenal made one signing in the summer

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal signed eight new players in the summer transfer window.

Mikel Arteta was backed by the Arsenal owners, and new sporting director Andrea Berta splashed over £200 million to strengthen the squad.

One of Arsenal’s biggest signings of the summer was Viktor Gyokeres. But the Swede’s arrival gave Arteta nightmares.

Mikel Arteta explains why he was having ‘nightmares’ when Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres

Arsenal signed Gyokeres from Sporting CP in a deal worth £63.5 million.

The Gunners had been in need of a prolific number nine for over three years, and after a lot of hard work, they got the deal for the Swede over the line.

Gyokeres has had a decent start to life at Arsenal, but after the injury he picked up against Burnley, Mikel Merino has led Arsenal’s line more often than not.

The Spaniard has done a brilliant job up front, which has proved to be a blessing for Arsenal in the absence of Kai Havertz and recently Gyokeres.

However, in the summer, Arteta has revealed that he had nightmares while signing the former Sporting man because he had no idea how to fit all of his strikers into the team.

He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “Yes, I think that’s a lesson. I took that lesson because the whole summer I was thinking, ‘if we bring in a nine, what was going to happen with Gabi Jesus and Kai?’

“I had a lot of nightmares. I like them so much as well. What are we going to do? How are we going to handle it? So far, we haven’t had a problem because they’ve been injured.

“So, live the present, live the moment and deal with the situation when it comes.”

Viktor Gyokeres will find it difficult to get back into the Arsenal side

Gyokeres is a tremendous player; there is no debate there.

The Swede is clinical in front of goal, works incredibly hard out of possession and offers something to Arsenal that they don’t have.

However, Gyokeres must have been upset seeing Merino do well because the Spain international has become undroppable after his recent performances.

Now, the former Coventry man will have to work his way back into the starting lineup, and it’s only going to get more difficult. That’s because Gabriel Jesus is back now as well, while Havertz is also closing in on a return from his injury.

If Gyokeres isn’t at his absolute best in training and in the upcoming games, he could drop down Arteta’s pecking order.