Arsenal ‘unprofessionalism’ shines through again as Havertz history repeats itself and may ‘change everything’ | OneFootball

The comparison is imperfect. A nine-game barren run to start a £65m Arsenal career is not quite the same as a final piece of the jigsaw nevertheless flopping his way to six goals in 19 matches.

And it doesn’t feel particularly likely that Arsenal will be accused of “unprofessionalism” for giving proven proficient penaltyman Viktor Gyokeres the decisive spot kick in the opening half an hour of a narrow but deserved 1-0 win over Everton.

That was the charge levelled against them two years ago when Kai Havertz had to have his hand held to break his Arsenal duck in a 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth.

“Do you think him scoring a goal there is going to make any difference to the way he plays in the middle of the park?” came one really quite bizarre line of criticism, the response to which was Havertz marking his next Premier League appearance with a match-winning assist against Manchester City.

It was a shot in the arm, a confidence boost, a show of solidarity with a player under immense pressure as a natural lightning rod for Arsenal’s collective problems.

Arteta praised the “human qualities” of his team that day, their “empathy” for a new teammate “that has some question marks to resolve externally”. He hailed the usual takers in Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard for “taking the initiative and the leadership to make those calls”, and suggested it would “change everything” for Havertz.

History seemed to repeat itself at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. When Jake O’Brien was penalised for a handball in the first half it was Gyokeres who was trusted to convert from 12 yards with Saka and Odegaard still on the pitch at 0-0, Manchester City having taken to the Premier League summit hours earlier.

The pressure was immense but entirely shouldered by a man who has not missed a single penalty in the league since he joined Sporting two and a half years ago.

Arteta was less effusive and far more matter-of-fact this time around, saying only that the players “had a talk” and “they gave it to Viktor”, which he described as “a good decision because he put the ball in the back of the net”.

And it was a straightforward call, even if not all £60m+ centre-forward signings are so eager to step up under the spotlight.

But the flipside – a Gyokeres miss in a game Arsenal went on to slip up in – would have created quite the unbearable but hilarious discourse on the weekend the Gunners dropped to second.

It would have been another bitter turn in the career of the Arsenal ‘lemon’. But in Arteta’s own words, it could “change everything” for Gyokeres.

And with their absurd defensive solidity returning in a game Everton failed to muster a shot on target in, that might be all they need.