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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/Sparky-moon on 2025-12-15 09:36:28+00:00.
Summer splurge was supposed to address last season’s shortcomings, but one shot against Wolves is not the return Mikel Arteta expects from main striker
Despite the victory, Mikel Arteta could not contain his displeasure at full-time. In separate interviews to television and radio broadcasters, and in his post-match press conference, the Arsenal manager reiterated how angry he was with his team’s performance, specifically after breaking the deadlock.
“The margins should have been bigger,” he said, almost disgusted at how Arsenal nearly let the winless Wolverhampton Wanderers pinch a point at the Emirates Stadium. He described a short and “unacceptable” period of “horrible defensive habits” that was nowhere near the level he requires.
Even an invitation to speak about Arsenal’s positive response between conceding the equaliser in the 90th minute and celebrating the winner in the 95th minute was rejected. Instead, Arteta focused on what he thought his team should have done better.
It’s why there was a clamour for a new striker who could put chances away. But where was that striker, Viktor Gyokeres, on Saturday evening?
After the match, Arteta must have been thinking: thank goodness for the ever-reliable Bukayo Saka — who assisted both goals — and the defence, which, when stripped back to its bare bones, was still sturdy and resilient. What he would not have been particularly grateful for was his striker’s input. It’s not that he did not try — his endeavour is not in question — it’s that when the £67million man did try he had little to show for it.
When Gyokeres plundered goals for Sporting Lisbon before joining Arsenal in the summer, he had a signature goal: running into space, in behind, often on the counter, and using his speed and physicality to race away from defenders and eventually finish.
Erling Haaland, for example, has had fewer counterattacking opportunities since joining Manchester City, yet he still manages to shoot and score. His involvement may be minimal, but even when he does not touch the ball he is creating space for others.
Gyokeres, meanwhile, had only one shot against Wolves. It came in those 11 minutes after Arsenal had scored, as the game opened up when Wolves went in search of an equaliser, and Gyokeres finally had space to run into.
He has taken more than three shots once in a league match this season — against Newcastle United — and he averages 1.89 shots per 90 minutes. Last season, for Sporting, he averaged 4.08; the season before the figure was 3.37.
Some may argue that this is a symptom of being the centre forward for Arsenal, who play against deep blocks. Yet when looking at Arsenal’s centre-forward options, none of whom is a “natural” No9, all manage more shots per 90 minutes for Arsenal (not just when they play up front): Kai Havertz (2.4), Gabriel Jesus (3.29), Leandro Trossard (2.57) and Mikel Merino (1.95). Gyokeres’s goalscoring rate puts him in the 37th percentile of strikers in the league, while his xG rate puts him in the 52nd percentile.
Watching Gyokeres on Saturday evening it was striking how the Wolves defence marshalled him comfortably and how his presence did little to aid his team-mates.