Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres has hit a rough patch. His move to North London came with big expectations, as many fans saw him as the missing link in Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres has hit a rough patch.
His move to North London came with big expectations, as many fans saw him as the missing link in Mikel Arteta’s squad.
His early form was promising too, finding the net three times in his first four Premier League matches. But since then, he has managed just six more goals across 23 games in all competitions.
Jermain Defoe thinks there may be a clear reason behind his drop-off in form.
Jermain Defoe believes Viktor Gyokeres’ difficult summer is behind his Arsenal form
Gyokeres did not have the easiest of summers.
After scoring 54 goals to help Sporting CP win the double, he fell out with the club over what he claimed was a broken promise.
The situation escalated to the point where Gyokeres refused to train and pushed for a move away, spending weeks on the sidelines in the process.
He eventually joined Arsenal at the end of July, but with just a few weeks until the new Premier League season started, he had little time to prepare properly.
Defoe thinks that missed preparation is catching up with him now.
Speaking on Premier League Productions’ Team Talks, the former Tottenham striker said: “I mean, Gabi Jesus, I love him. I’ve always liked him as a player. I like Havertz and Gyokeres; he’s a goal scorer.
“It’s not happened for him this season for whatever reason. You know, he missed the pre-season. I think that’s a big factor.
“I think people don’t realise that when you try to hit the ground running.”
Arsenal may regret not moving quicker to sign Viktor Gyokeres
Andrea Berta has been nothing short of impressive since joining Arsenal, and there is a good reason why he has had so much praise come his way.
If the Gyokeres deal had been sorted a few weeks earlier, though, the story might look a bit different now.
Sporting started out wanting €70 million (£60.2m) plus another €10 million (£8.6m) in add-ons [Guardian]. Arsenal were not keen to go that high, which dragged things out over several weeks.
After plenty of back-and-forth between Sporting president Frederico Varandas and Arsenal director Berta, the two sides finally reached an agreement towards the end of July.
The Gunners ended up paying £64 million for Gyokeres including add-ons [BBC], just £4 million short of Sporting’s original asking price.
We will never know for sure, but there is every chance the Swede could have settled quicker if he had had a full pre-season under his belt.
Category: General Sports
