Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a dramatic late win over Wolves at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to an injury-time own goal.
The Gunners knocked on the door for the entire game before finally breaking the deadlock in the 70th minute as Bukayo Saka’s corner bounced back off the post and hit goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in the back, before bouncing in. Wolves thought they’d snatched a point as Tolu Arokodare headed home in injury time, but Saka crossed again and forced a second own goal, this time from Yerson Mosquera, just minutes later to steal all three points
The win puts Mikel Arteta’s side five points clear at the top of the table before Man City’s trip to take on Crystal Palace on Sunday, but the manager will surely be concerned by what he saw during the game.
Viktor Gyokeres Was a Waste of Money
While Arsenal sit top of the league, there are definitely concerns about some of the performances they have been putting in this season.
Defensively, there is no doubting that the Gunners are one of the top sides in Europe, regardless of which defenders they have available to them. But going forward, they don’t look to be sharp and there are major concerns about their big summer signing Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swede, who signed from Sporting CP in a £64m deal, had been expected to solve a lot of the issues in front of goal that the north London club had been dealing with in recent years. But it’s fair to say that as we approach the halfway point of the season, he has done nothing of the sort.
So far Gyokeres has found the back of the net six times in all competitions, which is considerably less than most would have been expecting. But the big concern isn’t the lack of goals, and more the lack of all-round play and form that he’s showing as part of the team. His performance against Wolves was so bad that he was given just a 3/10 rating.
It’s no coincidence that the team has looked considerably more threatening with Gabriel Jesus leading the line in the last two games after he has come off the bench, while Mikel Merino seems to be more of a threat in the box with his aerial prowess and tehcnical qualities too.
Arteta Got Gyokeres Decision Wrong
The summer window was dominated by reports that Arteta was keen on signing both Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres, but he had to make a decision between them. He clearly opted for the 27-year-old former Coventry man, but it seems like it was a bad call.
Sesko has struggled at Man Utd, so there is no guarantee he would have done better, but it seems clear now that Gyokeres isn’t a good fit for this Arsenal side and the way they play, or more importantly, the way teams play against them.
His lack of technical quality means he struggles to hold the ball up against physical centre-backs with his back to goal, and his lack of sharp movement means he isn’t getting chances in the box like he was in Portugal.
If Arsenal are going to win the Premier League, or even a cup competition, then it may be in spite of Gyokeres’ style and form, rather than because of it. The fans are beginning to turn, and there must be a realisation that they could have put the money towards signing someone else instead, who fits what they want better.