Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has shared his verdict on Arsenal’s new striker Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swedish striker made his Premier League debut on the opening day during Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Man United.
It didn’t take long for Man United fans to taunt Gyokeres, who struggled on his debut, largely due to the lack of service he was given from his teammates.
As a unit, Arsenal didn’t create many chances at all, which was a problem for the £64m signing, particularly with all eyes on him in an opening day blockbuster.
There’s not a lot of pressure more difficult to withstand than a player arriving in the Premier League for the first time, expected to deliver what they did before.
Pundits and fans are expecting immediate results from Gyokeres, which won’t happen after trading Sporting CP for Arsenal just weeks ago.
The consensus from Gyokeres’ debut was the lack of service he got, being isolated in a game that was largely not in Arsenal’s control.
The same verdict was also shared by Wayne Rooney on The Wayne Rooney Show, who, despite seeing how isolated the 27-year-old was at times, saw some real strengths to his game.
“I think to be fair to him, he didn’t have much support as well at times. Today, he was a bit isolated, and I think he showed his strength. There was one time, I think it was De Ligt, he completely ran into the channel and completely pushed him off the ball.”
Gyokeres outmuscled Matthijs de Ligt like he was nothing, something Rooney appreciated.
The United legend then went on to share his experience of facing Gyokeres, urging people not to write off the striker based on one hour of Premier League football.
“I don’t think you become a bad player after one game,” Rooney said.
“I actually played against him a couple of seasons ago when he was at Coventry. And from then, you could tell he was a good player.
“The one thing I will say, this league is completely different to where he’s been. And there’s a lot more pressure, obviously, Arsenal have been in need of a striker for the last few years and he’s the one they’ve put the trust in. He’s the one they’ve spent the money on.”
Expectation in the Premier League is like no other, particularly when signing for a top club who have been crying out for a striker.
Gyokeres arrived to save the day and, given the narrative painted at Arsenal over the years, there’s room for error, or seemingly, time to adapt.
Rooney called on the Swede to challenge himself to handle the pressure that’s already being thrown at him from all angles.
“There is a lot of pressure. Now, the question I would have, can he handle that pressure? Because we see at Manchester United, some players just can’t do it, can’t handle the pressure of playing in a big club.
“And I guess we’re going to find out over the next few months.”
Some of the criticism Gyokeres has collected already is unfathomable, something that Arteta will want to keep away from his new forward, who will be firmly focused on adapting to his new surroundings.
