Watching Viktor Gyokeres: Quick bursts, direct dribbling and a tactical challenge for Arteta

New York Times

3 days ago

The excitement at the Emirates was palpable as Arsenal returned from their pre-season tour of Asia. They lost 3-2 to Villarreal but after years of waiting for a centre-forward, supporters were ready to welcome their newest addition to the front line home.
Viktor Gyokeres was in town, making his first start in Arsenal colours. Greeted with applause when his name was announced just before kick-off, within a minute of play there was a glimpse of why that excitement was genuine and not just charity for a new face.
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With the game barely settled, the Sweden international made a quick burst into the Villarreal penalty area. He was found, and despite having his cutback cleared, it seemed like a precursor of what could be expected later in the game and throughout the season.
Expectations are just that, though. The reality was that while those moments presented themselves on the odd occasion, there were other moments that showed this new marriage may need time to click.
'He's been with us only a week or so,' manager Mikel Arteta said post-match. 'But I already saw a lot of things and a lot of purpose, especially the way he was attacking in certain spaces.'
Arsenal's new dilemma on whether to stick or twist in attack was evident multiple times in the first half. There was one chance to break as goalkeeper David Raya threw the ball out to Myles Lewis-Skelly, who played it backwards instead of mounting an attack while Gyokeres was on the move.
Lewis-Skelly received a similar throw from Raya later in the half and was patient in his play once again. This time, however, Arsenal progressed play well and the left-back threaded a ball in behind for Gyokeres from a more advanced position. The audible anticipation around what Gyokeres would do turned into pleasant surprise as he weaved past two challenges before trying another cutback that needed a runner from midfield.
Last month, Coventry City captain and Arsenal academy player Ben Sheaf spoke to The Athletic about what it was like adapting to Gyokeres as a team-mate.
He spoke about how Coventry liked having the ball but would also play to the Sweden international's strengths, before adding: 'The way the season progressed, it swayed more towards, 'This is what he's doing, he's doing it well, let's keep doing it and get better at it'.
'I get what people are saying about how is he going to fit in, but people probably said the same thing about Erling Haaland when he went to (Manchester) City and that turned out quite well. I think under good managers and better players, Viktor's only going to get better and add more to his game anyway, so I wouldn't say that's a concern really.'
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It was clear from Wednesday's performance that the 27-year-old's qualities can be of use to Arsenal, but finding the best way to accentuate them is now the big challenge.
Arsenal's collective performances this pre-season have been mixed. They were lax when defending set pieces in their 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, and Arteta admitted that against Villarreal they were 'naive, especially the way we have defended open spaces'.
Individually, Martin Zubimendi and Ethan Nwaneri have grown into their midfield roles — mainly because they have played with personality. Zubimendi's insistence on passing forward whenever he is on the pitch has been encouraging. Nwaneri has started three of the four pre-season games so far, and has impressed by going off-script with nutmegs, quick bursts of pace and reversed passes to move Arsenal up the pitch, while also showing a better understanding of his role out of possession against Villarreal.
Part of why individuals have shone and the collective have stuttered will come down to the make-up of Arteta's line-ups. Most have been a mix of players who would be considered regular starters and squad players.
For example, the midfield trio of Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice have not yet started a game together. They have had minutes alongside one another, going back to the first pre-season game against Milan, but they have always been after substitutions have been made. It was also not until the final half-hour of the Villarreal game that Gabriel, who has played more than 200 games for Arsenal, made his return from a hamstring injury.
Even later in the match, Noni Madueke's inclusion on the left wing showed there are still elements of this new-look squad for Arteta to work out.
'Noni is very comfortable playing right and left,' the Arsenal manager added. 'We want to have inverted-footed players (left-footers playing off the right, for example). We can do that, and he's a real threat. But… (if) we want to find something else, playing with natural-footed, he's going to give us that solution. Today you've seen already a couple of balls that he put in the box, the pace and the quality he can deliver.'
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With such important facets of Arteta's squad coming together at different times, the final game of pre-season against Athletic Club on Saturday should make for interesting viewing.
Arteta is hopeful Kai Havertz, Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard will return from their respective injuries. But will he finally manage to field an XI that resembles his strongest selection before the season gets under way at Old Trafford on August 17?
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