Theo Walcott has made a worrying claim involving Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres ahead of the Gunners’ Premier League meeting with Leeds United this weekend.
Viktor Gyokeres, who joined Arsenal to much fanfare this summer, made his competitive debut on Sunday as the Gunners ran out 1-0 winners at Manchester United.
However, while Arsenal picked up all three points, they were not exactly a joy to watch, and Gyokeres was not at his best during the match.
And Theo Walcott fears more of the same from the new signing, potentially until after the international break.
Theo Walcott feels Viktor Gyokeres will need ‘a lot of time to get fit’
Walcott, speaking on the It’s Called Soccer! podcast, suggested that Gyokeres is really short of match fitness at present.
The former Arsenal winger, drawing on his own experiences, said he would always need three or four games to reach match sharpness.
And Walcott feels that, looking at Gyokeres, he may need “a lot of time” before he’s at the optimum level to deliver for Arsenal in the league.
“It used to always take me three or four games to get up to match sharpness,” said Walcott.
“And you look at Gyokeres, and it will take him a lot of time to get fit, I do feel like.”
READ MORE: Tottenham fans are all saying the same thing after Arsenal win Eberechi Eze race
What Mikel Arteta has already said about Viktor Gyokeres match fitness
Gyokeres was criticised after his quiet debut, while fellow summer signings Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke did not pull up any trees either.
After the Man United game, Arteta admitted that Gyokeres, Zubimendi and Madueke aren’t at the right level physically just yet.
“Well, we are very happy with all of them,” said Arteta.
“With some of them, they are still not, well, probably all three of them, are still not at the highest level physically, to achieve what we want to achieve in terms of our game mode.
“But their contribution is going to be key, and today, looking at the bench and having the ability to change the game is something that we haven’t had in the past.”
Gyokeres and Madueke did not have a full pre-season with Arsenal, which could have contributed to their poor start to life at N5.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
