It was a tough outing for Viktor Gyokeres at Anfield, as once again, the striker was left isolated.
Arsenal failed to apply pressure on Liverpool in the final third, which was passable until the hosts took the lead in the 83rd minute.
For all of the control that the Gunners seemed to have on proceedings, there was little attacking threat to accompany it, which, sadly, impacted Gyokeres.
Gyokeres was left isolated against Manchester United on the opening day, and the same happened to the forward at Anfield.
Viktor Gyokeres struggled against Liverpool
The Swede would’ve entered the game at Anfield full of confidence after scoring his first two Premier League goals last time out against Leeds United.
Against Leeds, Arsenal saw how easily their striker can turn a half-chance into a goal, but against Liverpool, Gyokeres had no service once again.
In fact, in the first half on Merseyside, Arsenal’s number 14 was barely in the game, as journalist Gregg Evans noted from the press box.
On X, Evans posted that in the moments leading up to half-time, Gyokeres had made only two more touches on the ball than William Saliba, who was forced off after three minutes.
The striker ended the game having made only 17 touches, failing to record a single shot on goal, which would’ve been made all the more frustrating by one thing Mikel Arteta did.
Gyokeres might blame Mikel Arteta for his isolation
Arsenal aren’t shy of attacking talent, but that wasn’t Arteta’s game plan on matchday three.
Though Martin Odegaard wasn’t fit to start, Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri were in contention to replace the skipper in the number ten role, but instead, the Arsenal manager chose Mikel Merino.
Merino, the defensive-minded midfielder, offered almost no creativity to the midfield, recording no key passes in his 70 minutes on the pitch.
The team selection was one reason for Gyokeres’ absent performance, with a thought to be spared for what the Swede would’ve imagined when seeing Eze and Odegaard on the bench.
From the off, Arsenal’s creative options were limited by choice, with four out-and-out playmakers, including Max Dowman, being left on the bench.
It wasn’t until the 70th minute that Eze and Odegaard were introduced, and lo and behold, things got brighter, but Arteta must surely see where things went wrong at Anfield.
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