Mikel Arteta conceded that Arsenal struggled to bring the best out of new signing Viktor Gyokeres on his competitive debut, despite opening their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory at Manchester United.
Riccardo Calafiori’s first-half header from a corner sealed the win for the Gunners at Old Trafford, though the visitors were second-best for large parts of the contest. David Raya produced key saves to deny United’s Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo as Arsenal held on to secure three points.
Gyokeres, signed in the summer to spearhead Arsenal’s attack, endured a quiet debut. The Swedish striker failed to register a single shot during his 61 minutes on the pitch, with his involvement largely restricted to a physical battle with United defender Matthijs de Ligt.
Arteta admitted his team did not utilise their new striker effectively.
“I think there are seven, eight situations when the ball is completely open to play through and we are in and attacking the ‘keeper,” Arteta said. “We give the ball away and then it becomes a basketball game.”
Pressed on Gyokeres’ display, the Spaniard insisted the forward had contributed in other ways but stressed the need for improvement in service.
“He did a lot of things very good. You can tell especially in our high press and rhythm that we demand. In the final action, he didn’t have that many chances because we didn’t manage to put the ball through to exploit his quality. But overall, coming away to Man United, winning your first game with Arsenal, is a good start.”
Arsenal’s performance was far from convincing, with United creating several dangerous openings, particularly down the flanks through Patrick Dorgu and Bryan Mbeumo. But the north London side showed defensive resilience to grind out the result.
Arteta praised his players’ reaction to difficult moments. “We showed in a different way today. We did two things very well, one to take the set-piece and then to react to mistakes. The way every single player reacted gave us the opportunity to win the game. If not, it’s impossible. That is about how we compete and how much we want it.”
The Arsenal boss admitted improvements are needed but believes winning while below their best can provide crucial momentum.
“That gives you momentum and confidence, because you know that when you are not at your standards, you can still come away and find a way to win the game.
“The team has to find that resilience throughout the season in different contexts to be able to do that. Of course, we have to improve a lot of things and that will happen very soon, but in terms of managing to get that into a positive result, that is a great way to do it.”
