Arsenal view unanimous as Gyokeres produces his best – but one accusation lingers | OneFootball

Arsenal fans have been waiting to see the best of Viktor Gyokeres since his summer move from Sporting CP – but most were starting to think they now were doing after his impact against Burnley.

Gyokeres recently recovered from a seven-game goal drought for Arsenal with a brace against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, but he then drew a blank when back on Premier League duties against Crystal Palace last weekend.

On Saturday against Burnley, though, Gyokeres got his first Premier League goal since mid-September, opening the scoring inside a quarter of an hour with a header from close range.

The striker had a role in their second goal, too, switching the play for Leandro Trossard to latch onto possession and set up Declan Rice.

Arsenal remain top of the league after their 2-0 win and will be hoping to go the distance this season after identifying the centre-forward position as somewhere they were being held back in previous seasons.

The signing of Gyokeres was supposed to address that, but his recent goal drought opened up some doubts, especially when considering he was mainly signed for his prowess in the box more so than his general play.

On this occasion, though, Gyokeres ticked all the boxes for Arsenal. Plenty of observers thought his first-half performance was the best he’s done for them so far.

“This has surely been the best half of football that Viktor Gyokeres has played for Arsenal, and probably by some distance? Holding it up, switching play, finding through balls,” Telegraph journalist Sam Dean posted on X.

Similarly, Charles Watts wrote: “That’s Viktor Gyokeres’ best 45 minutes in an Arsenal shirt by a distance. Got his goal obviously, but his hold and link up play has been excellent. Everything has been sticking and his pass in the build-up to Rice’s goal was exquisite.”

Atul Kasbekar concurred: “Gyokeres has had perhaps one of the best halves in his Arsenal career. Best hold up play I’ve seen from him as yet. More to come…”

And famous Arsenal supporter Piers Morgan posted a picture of Gyokeres with the caption: “This guy is going to be an Arsenal legend…”

Alas, Gyokeres was taken off at half time, so couldn’t build on his promising first half. Mikel Arteta has confirmed it was due to a muscular ‘niggle’, which he will be hoping isn’t too serious a setback.

Gyokeres’ track record questioned

And there are still some sceptical non-Arsenal perspectives on Gyokeres’ ability, with the calibre of opponent being raised as an argument against him.

Notorious X account Invert The Wing suggested: “They were spot on about Gyokeres being a flat track bully. 0 goals against anything other than the 2 newly promoted sides he’s played.”

Gyokeres previously scored a brace against Leeds United earlier in the season, but that claim about not scoring against sides who were already in the Premier League last season is incorrect considering his goal against Nottingham Forest in September.

Still, it’s the next step Gyokeres will have to take to prove himself. Scoring against Atletico in the Champions League was a good start, but now he needs to be as impactful against higher-ranking Premier League opponents.

And it’s a question he won’t get to answer soon either, since Arsenal play another recently-promoted team – albeit one performing above expectations at the moment – next weekend in the shape of Sunderland.

It won’t be until after the international break when they face someone expected to be competing for a similar standing in the Premier League: their north-London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on November 23.

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