Rio Ferdinand says ‘incredible’ Arsenal player simply didn’t look fit enough vs Man United

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Arsenal produced a disappointing performance despite winning away at Manchester United on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta’s side won 1-0 courtesy of an early close-range header from Riccardo Calafiori, who pounced on a mistake from Altay Bayindir.

However, this was far from a vintage display from the Gunners, as United dominated possession and territory, whilst outshooting the North Londoners 22 to nine.

While they’ll be happy to have claimed all three points, Arsenal will have to perform significantly better in matches moving forward if they are to launch an assault on the Premier League title.

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Rio Ferdinand says Viktor Gyokeres isn’t fit enough yet

Viktor Gyokeres made his competitive debut for Arsenal at Old Trafford, and it certainly didn’t go as he would have hoped.

The Swede took no shots, created no chances and completed just four passes in what was a peripheral day for him.

While the general consensus is that he needs more time to settle in English football, Gyokeres has received some criticism for his performance.

He looked laboured and wasn’t able to demonstrate his exceptional athletic qualities, in terms of relentlessly running in behind and causing danger through this movement.

Rio Ferdinand highlighted this in his post-match discussion on his YouTube channel, claiming Gyokeres isn’t yet fit enough.

“I think with Gyokeres, you’ve got to look at him and ask, where are his attributes best suited on the pitch and where does he cause problems?” the former United defender said.

“If you look at yesterday in isolation, running the channels is something that he looks like he’s good at and he enjoys. He’s physically capable of doing that. I think he’s still going to have to get fitter, he needs more training sessions and more games to see the best out of him physically.

“But play him in the channels, run him. Away from home, more often than not that’s going to happen. At the Emirates, where they dominate possession and pen teams back, is that going to suit his game?

“Are Arsenal going to play him with runners off him? I don’t think so. I think the ask of him will be, when the ball gets into the penalty box, where are you going to find space to score goals and can you execute?”

Arsenal haven’t learnt how to play with Viktor Gyokeres yet

Moving from Kai Havertz to Gyokeres is a significant stylistic change.

Havertz is a focal point striker, largely remaining in central areas and looking to drop deep to combine with midfielders.

Meanwhile, Gyokeres is inclined to pull out wide and is constantly playing on the shoulder of the last line of defence.

His best skill is making runs in behind the opponents, and Arsenal need to learn to play to these strengths.

There were instances in which Martin Odegaard tried to play Gyokeres in directly, but the execution wasn’t always on point.

With more time playing together and as the automatisms develop, Arsenal should get to a point where Europe’s most prolific striker over the last two years is causing consistent danger.

Gyokeres has been described as ‘incredible’, and it’s clear that there is talent within him.