Neville was quick to evaluate Gyokeres’ start at Arsenal.
Gary Neville has delivered a brutally honest assessment of Viktor Gyokeres’ Arsenal debut – but the attacker immediately answered some of his critics against Leeds.
Gyokeres joined Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon for an initial £63.5 million earlier this summer.
He made his Arsenal debut in the 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Sunday.
Despite a mixed performance in his debut, the Swede was chosen to start against Leeds in place of Kai Havertz.
The Gunners led 2-0 at halftime thanks to goals from Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka.
But Neville, commentating for Sky Sports, was unimpressed with Gyokeres’ first competitive half at the Emirates Stadium.
He stated, “It’s been a challenge. I think he showed glimpses against United, and Matthijs de Ligt did an excellent job marking him. Playing at Old Trafford is a difficult game. I’m more concerned about today.
“It’s clearly early in his career, but you can’t let the negative cycle continue.
“The pressure is on him. People are looking to him to score the 20 goals that will propel Arsenal to the title. If things continue as they are, the scrutiny will be intense. He needs a goal.
“It’s not just about scoring, is it? It’s a general play. Does he appear to be nice and orderly in his game, bringing people into play, and attentive of what is going on around him? He looks a little unkempt in his first game and a half.”
Gyokeres had only 12 ball touches in the first 42 minutes of the half, two of which were in his own box and two more within his own half.
In actuality, the ball was only touched once in the opposing penalty area.
However, the half-time break certainly had a favorable effect on the Swede.
His first goal for Arsenal came three minutes into the second half.
He scooped up the ball on the left flank before driving into the penalty area, past two players, and shooting into the bottom left corner to make it 3-0 Arsenal.
Jurrien Timber added his second after a goalmouth scramble from a corner kick, bringing Arsenal’s lead to 4-0.
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Gyokeres subsequently hammered a penalty into the left corner in extra time to record his second goal of the game.
What did Mikel Arteta say about Gyokeres?
In his pre-match news conference ahead of the Leeds game, Arteta hailed Gyokeres as being in ‘a really good spot’ despite failing to hit a shot on goal against United.
“I think we are going to be extremely happy when he starts to put the ball in the back of the net very, very often,” the coach remarked.
“My team and I have a tremendous obligation to help him and understand him so he can be more efficient.
“I believe the game [against United] was physically tough and got extremely open for a variety of reasons. And we decided that he had done enough at that point, so we brought in Kai to replace him on the bench and change the game.
“But he’s prepared to go again. He’s incredibly excited. He trained quite well this week and has another week under his belt. “He appears to be in a good place.”
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