Mikel Arteta's honest opinion on Viktor Gyökeres before Arsenal's clash against Chelsea is sure to be a big boost for the former Sporting Lisbon striker. Gyökeres joined Arsenal from the Portuguese side last summer for a huge €63.5 million transfer. Many Arsenal fans saw him as the final mission piece of the puzzle for their league title aspirations, and some were even of the opinion that the Swedish striker would outscore Erling Haaland once the season begins.
The move to Arsenal has been a challenge one thing for Gyökeres, who struggled a lot in his first few months with the Gunners. This even led to many fans labeling him as a flop. Others, however, defended the player and claimed that he just needed more time. The great news for Arsenal is that Gyökeres has been brilliant for the past month, and Mikel Arteta's opinion on his recent form indicates that Swedish forward might get even better in the coming months as Arsenal look to win the Premier League after a long gap.
What Mikel Arteta said about Viktor Gyökeres before Arsenal vs Chelsea Premier League clash
The following is what Mikel Arteta said about Viktor Gyökeres before Arsenal's game against Chelsea:
On Viktor Gyokeres’ form:
"Well, I think one thing leads to another. When you score the first one, or the performance is good, you have more time with your teammates, you understand the games, the opponents, the league better, everything helps. We know his qualities, he’s undoubtedly an incredible striker. We need to feed into his quality, we need to understand him better, he needs to understand the team and the league better, and I think we are on the right trajectory."
On if Gyokeres had any self-doubt:
"I don’t know, that’s a question for him. Obviously I know the demands that he’s put on himself, the expectations that he has to help the team. I’m confident because I ask, a lot of times, our defenders, when they have to train against our players, how do you feel about that? And that’s a really good way to understand the quality of a player or how it is to defend them."
What we understand Mikel Arteta's Viktor Gyökeres opinion
Based on what Mikel Arteta said in his press conference, we feel that the Spaniard has indicated that the best of Viktor Gyökeres is yet to come, and whatever struggles he's had so far is down to the player and his teammates getting to know each other. The opinion from the Spaniard also hints at Arsenal eventually playing in a style that would be more suited and focused around Gyökeres, especially in relation to his movements and Link-up okay.
Mikel Arteta is a manager that's brilliant when it comes to developing players, and his words should be a big boost for Gyökeres. Once the Spaniard realizes how he can get the best out of Gyökeres and provide him the best service, then Arsenal are sure to reach a whole new level. Who knows, maybe Gyökeres might be challenging Erling Haaland next season for the Premier League top scorer award if Arteta finds the keys to unlock the Swedish striker.
All these are for the future though. Let us wait and see how Gyökeres performs when Arsenal take on Chelsea this weekend, as Arteta would be hoping his star striker to score a goal or 2.
