Viktor Gyokeres is having a really tough start to life at Arsenal, with so many questions being asked of the striker.
Gyokeres had two games to prove his worth this week, as the Swede earned starts against Club Brugge and then Wolves.
There’s so much faith that the 27-year-old will come good following his £64m transfer, but Arsenal fans are growing impatient.
Gyokeres was so poor against Wolves as his struggles continued, issues that he recently opened up about.
Will Viktor Gyokeres turn it around like Thierry Henry did? If not, why?
Viktor Gyokeres is ready to improve at Arsenal
Before Arsenal’s win over Wolves, A Bola relayed comments from when Gyokeres spoke to ESPN.
The former Sporting CP striker acknowledged that his start to life in the Premier League hasn’t gone quite as hoped, but he suggested there’s no reason not to feel optimistic.
“When you’re getting good numbers, you want to keep it up. If I do things well, [the goals] will come,” Gyokeres said.
“If we look at what happened in Portugal, I went through a similar period when I arrived and, after a while, when I got to know the club better, when I adapted, I really started playing well. I want to do the same here.”
The Swede was referencing the period it took him to adapt to Ruben Amorim’s system, comparing it to how he’s still finding his feet working under Mikel Arteta’s demands.
Gyokeres found Amorim’s system perfect, which is a concern in itself as Arteta’s set-up is completely different.
An additional concern is that, while comparing his struggles in Portugal to now is valid, Gyokeres neglected to consider just how much he’s underperforming at Arsenal.
Gyokeres’ comments are fair, but there’s a major difference between his start at Sporting CP and at Arsenal
The numbers reveal just how different the two situations are for Gyokeres.
In his first 16 Liga Portugal matches for Sporting CP, Gyokeres recorded 18 goal contributions, scoring 11 times and assisting seven.
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To compare, from Arsenal’s first 16 Premier League matches of the season, the striker has scored four and assisted none.
Gyokeres’ last Premier League goal came back on November 1st, over a month ago.
While his struggles may feel comparable, the numbers he’s producing are agonisingly far apart, with some scoring form needed promptly.
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