Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal got their 2025/26 Premier League season off to a flyer with a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford – but the Emirates Stadium faithful are all making the same remark about Viktor Gyokeres’ first competitive minutes, which striker-turned-pundit Daniel Sturridge agreed with.
In the 14th minute, it was unlikely scorer Riccardo Calafiori popping up at the backstick on the end of Altay Bayindir’s weak save that opened the scoring for the Gunners. And, despite a barrage of shots from the hosts, David Raya’s performance kept it at 1-0.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Since the start of 2023/24, Arsenal have scored the most goals from corners in the Premier League (31), while Man Utd have conceded the most from them (23).
For the most part, Arsenal looked uninspiring in attack – and that is highlighted by their nine total shots, which pales in comparison to Manchester United’s 22. Gyokeres enjoyed a poor competitive debut – and Gunners fans are all in agreement re: the 27-year-old Swede.
Arsenal Fans Agree on Viktor Gyokeres Verdict After 1-0 Win Over Man Utd
In an attempt to dilute their centre-forward woes, Arsenal – led by Sporting Director Andrea Berta – entered the race for Gyokeres, widely regarded as one of the best strikers in world football, this summer and ended up striking a deal worth £54.8 million with Sporting CP.
And he failed to get off the mark against his former manager, Ruben Amorim, and he flattered to deceive in his first competitive minutes in the colours of Arsenal – he took just 21 touches of the ball, took zero shots and won 29% of his ground duels.
Viktor Gyokeres – Stats vs Man Utd
Minutes
60
Total shots
0
Distance covered
7.8km/h
Touches
21
Touches in opp. box
3
Accurate passes
4/9 (44%)
Ground duels won
2/7 (29%)
Aerial duels won
1/6 (17%)
Going from Portugal’s top flight to playing in the Premier League is no easy task – just ask Darwin Nunez! – and it’ll certainly take time for the Swedish sharpshooter to adapt to the physicality of English football. In the meantime, Arsenal fans believe that his teammates need to play to his strengths better.
Last season alone, the Stockholm-born striker plundered 54 strikes in 52 outings and if he is to bring such potency to the Premier League, the likes of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard will need to provide clear-cut chances. One fan wrote:
“Need to either play Gyokeres through or have him drop deeper to help with build-up etc. He hasn’t gotten hardly any service worthwhile.”
On Gyokeres’ substandard back-to-goal play, another supporter took to X (formerly Twitter) to say that Arsenal had ‘zero control’ in their 1-0 win over the Red Devils. “Gyokeres’ inability to be a +1 or an outlet or a hold-up threat has led to us having zero control.”
“We need our team to create chances and get balls into the box or behind for Gyokeres to use his strengths,” another wrote as a fourth fan added that Arsenal gave him a lack of balls in behind: “We bought Gyokeres and didn’t give him one ball in behind.”
On whether Arsenal need to learn how to use Gyokeres, striker-turned-pundit Daniel Sturridge said: “I think so, yes, I really do. Why? Because I think when you’re an attacker and used to certain actions, I think Saka is used to playing a certain way and used to doing certain types of things. Likewise, the player on the left.
“They’ve been playing with a striker in Havertz who is very different to Gyokeres. It does take time to get used to that player’s runs. He’s going to have to also alter his game.”
“It’s not just about the team changing for him but he needs to change for the team too. The manager’s going to have to implement certain things on the training ground, he’s [Gyokeres] going to have to have conversations,” Sturridge said before adding: “That’s what it takes for you to hit the ground running.”
Watch Sturridge’s analysis of Gyokeres’ first outing below:
