Viktor Gyokeres has just done something at Arsenal that hasn’t happened since 1987

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Viktor Gyokeres made his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt on Thursday, granted a 13-minute cameo by Mikel Arteta against Tottenham.

Arsenal lost 1-0 to Spurs in Hong Kong, courtesy of a wonder strike from Pape Sarr shortly before half-time.

The result marked the Gunners’ first defeat of pre-season, after beating AC Milan and Newcastle in Singapore.

Gyokeres was given his debut after signing from Sporting last week, and the Swede was unable to make an impact in his short time on the pitch, managing just two touches of the ball.

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Viktor Gyokeres breaks 38-year Arsenal record

Arsenal signed Gyokeres for £63 million – a significant investment for a player of his age.

Having scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting, there is an expectation that the 27-year-old will be the missing piece in the jigsaw for Mikel Arteta’s team, and finally lead them to glory.

Unfortunately for the player, he didn’t get off to the greatest start in a red and white shirt, breaking an unwanted 38-year record on his debut.

Gyokeres became the first Arsenal player since Michael Thomas in 1987 to make his first appearance for the North London club against Tottenham and suffer defeat.

Thomas made his debut in the first leg of a League Cup semi-final against Spurs, a game Arsenal lost at Highbury.

The Gunners’ newest acquisition has repeated Thomas’ feat, and will hope this is the last negative record he breaks with Arteta’s team.

That said, Gyokeres certainly wouldn’t mind repeating Thomas’ greatest ever achievement in an Arsenal shirt, netting a league title-winning goal in the last minute of a season.

Viktor Gyokeres will need time to settle in at Arsenal

Gyokeres was somewhat thrown into the deep end against Tottenham.

The game had lost all momentum, players were tiring in the heat and Spurs had decided to bunker inside their own penalty box.

Arsenal never really went full throttle to try and claw the game back, and thus, Gyokeres didn’t really receive the volume or quality of service he would expect.

The former Coventry City man will need time to settle and adapt to the new demands at Arsenal, arriving in a new environment that will be unlike anything he’s ever experienced before.

The Gunners take on Manchester United at Old Trafford in their first match of the 2025/26 season, and it’s possible that Kai Havertz starts this game, alongside a few more of the opening matches, as Gyokeres continues to integrate.