Arsenal: Arteta reveals what is ‘missing’ with Gyokeres as he explains decision to snub Eze | OneFootball

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has commented on Viktor Gyokeres’ recent form for the Premier League giants as he “misses” one thing.

Gyokeres joined Arsenal in the summer from Sporting Lisbon in a deal worth around £64m after he was chosen over Benjamin Sesko.

The 27-year-old was signed as a ready-made fix for Arsenal‘s forward issues, but he has struggled following his move to the Emirates.

Gyokeres has only scored seven goals in 20 games for Arsenal and five in 15 Premier League matches, with the striker also struggling to make an impact in general play.

This has fuelled heavy criticism towards Gyokeres, with it suggested that Gabriel Jesus or Kai Havertz could soon replace him.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s game against AFC Bournemouth on Friday night, Arteta has issued a warning to Gyokeres and revealed what he is “missing”.

“He is going to continue to have a lot of noise around him for the next five years,” Arteta said in an interview with Sky Sports. 

“Since day one, you sign as a No 9 for Arsenal with the background he has and the expectation at Arsenal, that is not going away. That is the life of being an Arsenal No 9.

“There is an expectation when you pull the shirt on. He knew that and it was part of the plan. I see him training every day and in the meeting, how much he wants to do well.

“The way he is working every single match, it will click. One thing is missing at the moment, scoring more goals, but he is doing other things right.”

Arteta also argued that Arsenal’s competition for places in attacking areas is good for Gyokeres. He added: “That was the plan, that we have that level of competition in the team.

“Different qualities and different players. I saw after the game when Jesus scored, Kai and Viktor were together.

“That was magic. I see how much they care about each other and how happy they are for each other, it is a joy as a manager.”

Arteta has also explained why he has opted to overlook fellow summer signing Eberechi Eze in recent matches.

“I speak to every player and the players always need to understand, and the manager needs to understand how each one is feeling, assess games, assess their emotional state,” Arteta continued.

“Eze has played more games and more minutes than ever at this time. So he’s played 22, I think, out of 28 games or something like that, so he never played that much football, so we’re on a good track.”