Viktor Gyokeres compared to Man Utd flop after 'worrying' Arsenal debut

Viktor Gyokeres during his Manchester United debut against Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Frank Leboeuf wasted no time before questioning Arsenal’s signing of Viktor Gyokeres following his ‘concerning’ Premier League debut.

The Swedish striker, who completed a £64m move from Sporting earlier in the summer, struggled to make an impact in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday.

Gyokeres had just 21 touches off the ball on his competitive Arsenal debut before being replaced by Kai Havertz on the hour mark.

His substituion was greeted by sarcastic cheers from Manchester United fans after Gyokeres rejected a move to Old Trafford earlier in the summer.

While it may be too soon to judge Gyokeres, Leboeuf did see some cause for concern during his underwhelming debut.

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The World Cup winner, who played in the Premier League with Chelsea, even compared Gyokeres to Manchester United flop Rasmus Hojlund.

Hojlund was left out of Ruben Amorim’s matchday squad on Sunday and the United boss is hoping to offload him before the transfer window closes.

Manchester United are trying to offload Hojlund (Picture: Getty)

The Red Devils paid £72m to sign Hojlund from Atalanta in 2023 but he scored just four league goals last season and is now in talks over a move to AC Milan.

‘My concern is why did they recruit a player like Gyokeres when you know the rest of the team won’t play the way he wants?’ Leboeuf said on ESPN.

‘Why do you sign a player like that when the rest of the team doesn’t understand him?

‘I hope he’s going to do better and score goals but I thought [Rasmus] Hojlund signed for Arsenal and was playing against his former team today.

Gyokeres struggled before being subbed off (Picture: Getty)

‘That was the way I saw Gyokeres today. I really hope he’s not going to have the same path as Hojlund and hope he can score many goals for Arsenal. But today he was nowhere near it.’

While Gyokeres did not enjoy a dream Arsenal debut, Mikel Arteta defended his performance at Old Trafford.

‘He did a lot of things very good,’ the Gunners boss said. ‘You can tell, especially in our high pressing, the rhythm that we demand, especially in the first half, we’re giving a bit too much time.

‘It’s something that we have to work on, especially there. And then in the finalising situation, he didn’t have that many chances to do that.

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‘But overall, coming away to Manchester United, winning your first game with Arsenal, it’s a good start.’

Discussing Arsenal’s 1-0 win more generally, Arteta added: ‘Big, big result coming in the first game of the season at Old Trafford.

‘When you feel that they are building something special, momentum, with a new signing and they want to kick on the season in a good way and you are able to come away with the win, I’m very happy and proud of the team.’

Gyokeres will hope for a better performance when Arsenal return to Premier League action on Saturday against Leeds United.

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