Arsenal edged out a narrow 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday evening. Leandro Trossard scored the only goal of the game on the hour mark after Gabriel Magalhaes knocked a Bukayo Saka corner into the path of the Belgian to tuck past Bernd Leno. However, the result means striker Viktor Gyokeres has failed to score since netting in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last month.
Getty Images SportArsenal's misfiring striker
The pressure has been Gyokeres since he moved to Arsenal over the summer. The Swede was rampant for Sporting CP last season, scoring 39 times as the Portuguese powerhouse claimed the Liga Portugal title.
The 27-year-old's flying form saw him linked with a high profile move to the Premier League in the off-season with Arsenal ultimately winning the race to secure his services. Manchester United had been credited with an interest in Gyokeres, and a move to Old Trafford would have seen the Sweden international link up with Ruben Amorim again, the pair excelling together during their respective stints in Lisbon.
However, Gyokeres has failed to live up to expectations in the opening weeks of his Arsenal career. Indeed, the former Coventry man has scored just three times in his opening eight league matches, including a brace in a routine 5-0 home win over Leeds in August.
Gyokeres last scored against Nottingham Forest in what was Ange Postecoglou's first game at the City Ground helm, but is now on a run of seven club games without a goal, a streak that stretches to nine matches if you include his two Sweden outings this month.
Advertisement'We were all begging for him to score'
Gyokeres managed three shots at Craven Cottage on Saturday evening and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes the only frustration from the game was the forward's failure to hit the back of the net again.
"He was very close today again, two or three times. We were all begging for him to score. The work rate he puts in for the team is phenomenal, so we try to give him support and love and it will come," Arteta said after the narrow London triumph.
Arteta isn't worried about Gyokeres' barren run in front of goal, and prior to the Fulham victory, stated that his confidence in the striker stems from a conversation they had over the summer before Arsenal signed the striker.
The idea of Gyokeres going through a difficult spell was raised, and the reaction was telling. "He looks at you and doesn’t move. He was on the screen like this and he just said: 'It’s fine'," Arteta revealed. "That’s him. There’s no emotion there, he just has a single-targeted mindset. That’s what I love about him."
Getty Images Sport'His journey had bumps in the road'
Arsenal place huge emphasis on analytics when it comes to signing players, but character and personality are also key traits they look for when they pursue a player. And Arteta has admitted that Gyokeres' 'bumpy' journey to the top stands the striker in good stead.
"He has not been a top striker in all of his career. His journey had bumps in the road," Arteta said. "And when you go to a level, you’re going to have this, it doesn’t go like this (motions a constant upward curve).
"I haven’t seen that for any player, except one or two in history. So get ready and deal with it with naturally, and obviously with all the support that he has from us."
And Arteta is pleased with how Gyokeres has handled his dry spell, and noted that his presence and work off the ball ha created space for others.
"Viktor adds so many things, that probably are not noticeable, the Arsenal boss said. "He creates environment and space and solutions to a lot of the players around him. And with the talent that we have in the team, I’m sure that everybody, him included, will benefit from that."
Gyokeres looking to end goal drought
Arsenal now have three successive home games as Gyokeres looks to end his goal drought. The Gunners face a tough test next week as they take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in a bid to make it three European wins from three having beaten Athletic Club and Olympiacos in their opening two League phase games.
The north London side then welcome Crystal Palace and Brighton to the Emirates between now and the end of the month in the Premier League and EFL Cup as they look to end a lengthy wait for silverware.
