Victor Gokeres has scored just one goal in his last 10 Premier League games, with doubts starting to grow over Arsenal’s £64m man ahead of their clash with Everton.
Manager Mikel Arteta has warned Arsenal’s title rivals that goal-scoring Victor Goqueres will be a different player in the second half of the season. Gokeres, 27, became the Gunners’ marquee signing in the summer transfer window, spending £64m to sign him from Sporting Lisbon, ending their long search for a striker.
However, the Swede has been plagued by teething problems and has only scored four goals in the Premier League. They were up against Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Burnley, three clubs struggling at the bottom of the table.
Joekeles only had one shot on Saturday at home to bottom-placed Wolves, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute. But Arteta believes the former Coventry City talisman is poised to rise to another level thanks to more time spent with his new team-mates.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Everton, manager Arteta explained: “Everyone was very excited to bring him to the club and we did that. We brought in a player with an incredible goalscoring record, but he had to adapt to the league. He didn’t have a pre-season.”
“The first few weeks were difficult because he wasn’t in the best shape physically and like any player in this league, that’s what it takes for a player to perform at almost that level.
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“Then he improved. I think he had a really good period, but he also had injuries. Now he’s back and we’ve seen a lot of positive things he’s done in the last two games.”
“We know that in certain situations we need to continue to fine-tune and understand him a little bit more, and he needs to do the same. But it’s about time. We support him fully.”
When asked if fans would see Gokeres take it to another level in 2026, the Gunners manager replied: “I think so, yes.”
Will Victor Gokeres be successful at Arsenal? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
After Saturday’s tough 2-1 win against Wolves thanks to two own goals, Arteta put the onus on his Joe Keles team-mates to serve better. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, especially if we didn’t score early in the game,” admitted the Arsenal manager.
“We had a lot of situations in the first half. Martinelli had a big chance. Two yards left, completely free and we couldn’t score. But once we got to the danger zone, we struggled to choose the red shirt in the box. We had a lot of situations, but we didn’t create many clear chances.”
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