London, Aug 10 Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta issued a warning for defenders after their marquee summer signing Viktor Gyokeres hit the ground running with his first goal for the club against Athletic Club on Saturday.
Goals by the Swedish striker, coupled with Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz saw the Gunners win 3-0 in their final pre-season friendly. Arsenal will begin their season with a stern test against Rivals Manchester United at the Old Trafford Stadium on August 17.
Arteta warned opposing teams that if they ‘leave Gyokeres in a one vs one situation, he will destroy you’.
“That's his nature, I think everything that he does, his movement, the way he times his runs, the way he predicts the next move and where the space can be and where the ball is going to land, that's the instinct that he has, that's why he's scored so many goals in the last few seasons so that's not a coincidence, it's his ability and he's constantly looking for it.
“Well I think his goals, his threat, I think he pins both centre backs, he's a player that when you're living with a space, one against one, he's going to destroy you. So he's going to create a lot of space as well for us and yeah, the moment that in any situation there is a player there that can score a goal,” said Arteta.
During his two seasons with Sporting, Viktor helped the team win back-to-back Primeira Liga titles, a national cup, and was the league’s top scorer in both campaigns. He has also excelled at international level, scoring 12 goals in his last 17 appearances for Sweden.
What is still unclear is if Kai Havertz will still be in the Arsenal playing XI for the coming season. Arteta labelled the German’s versatility across different positions as a positive which elevates the quality of the squad.
“Yeah, especially because they can play together, Kai can play in different positions as well and I think it elevates the quality in the squad, the goal threat that we have in the team, the options that we have to change and provide a opposition with a lot of problems and it's great to see both of them scoring, both in such a good form and a good problem to have,” Arteta added.
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