Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres endured a tough outing in his side’s narrow 1-0 loss to Liverpool, with his performance stats painting a disappointing picture.
The match was decided by a brilliant 83rd-minute free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai, who curled a right-footed strike into the top corner from distance — a rare flash of brilliance in an otherwise tense and cautious contest between two title hopefuls. ..Continue Reading
Both goalkeepers, Alisson and David Raya, were barely tested, making just three saves combined.
Liverpool remain the only team to win all three of their opening Premier League fixtures this season.
Arsenal, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the campaign after earlier wins over Manchester United and a dominant 5-0 victory against Leeds, where Gyokeres had bagged a brace.
However, the Swedish forward struggled to make an impact at Anfield.
He failed to register a single shot, completed only five of seven passes — four of which came in attacking areas — and lost all three aerial duels he contested.
His frustrating afternoon was capped off with a yellow card for a second-half foul.
Gyokeres is still settling in following his £64 million summer move from Sporting CP, where he netted 87 goals across two seasons, including in European competition.
Many Arsenal supporters have pointed to the team’s lack of creativity on the day as a bigger issue than the striker’s individual display.
One wrote: “There is no point in having a striker if you’re not going to create chances for him.”
A second added: “Nobody is passing to him. No chance being created. He’s on his own.”
And a third stated: “The two big games away from home, games where you sign an expensive striker and he barely sees the ball, that has to change. It’s not necessarily a Gyokeres problem, it is more so how we approach the play when he’s the spearhead in these types of matches.
