Viktor Gyoker was unable to find the net with Manchester United on Arsenal’s debut, and Shot Oon’s ability to score goals left anyone worried about his outlook
Rio Ferdinand believes that Arsenal striker Victor Gyoker simply needs to speed up after he failed to register a shot during his Premier League debut. The Gunners beat Manchester United 1-0 in the first game of the season, but they couldn’t see their new forward thrive.
Mikel Arteta has long been hoping for a scorer to support his frontline as the North London side is trying to get over the hump of being a perennial runner-up. Gyoker signed a £63.5 million contract after scoring 54 goals in 52 appearances in Sports CP last season.
But Old Trafford’s Premier League life was not an easy welcome as Arsenal produced their best form and failed to find Swedish International. Riccardo Carafioli’s goal separated the side as the Gunners got off to a victory start with at least Reuben Amorim’s side.
Gyokores lasted 60 minutes until he was replaced by Kai Havertz on Sunday. And Ferdinand thinks it’s perfectly understandable that the former Coventry Sharpshooter isn’t running to the ground.
The former Manchester United defender highlighted the enjoyment of preseason gyoker when he went on strike at the previous club, offering a warning in pursuit of perhaps Newcastle star Alexander Isaac.
read more: Transfer News Live: Liverpool agrees to winger’s deal, with Spurs latest Ez, Donnalma and Isaacread more: Mikel Arteta identifies the arrival of the next Arsenal transfer, but faces a gunner’s dilemma
Ferdinand said: “We’ve seen some of the comments and people say Gyoker hasn’t seen the role early in the season.
“Give him time to speed up when it comes to fitness. He needs to get a fit! He probably got to Arsenal so he requested that he leave so he wasn’t training with the team.
“Depth now, Herberts is coming, Arsenal has a real chance right now.”
Arsenal boss Arteta wasn’t too worried about his new star display, given the early stages of his time in North London. “Well, he’s done a lot of very good things,” he said after scoring three points.
“We see that we ask for it, especially in our high pressure rhythms, in the first hour. Again, he takes too long, and that’s what we need to work on him.
“And yeah, he confirmed the situation and he didn’t have a chance to do that because, like I said, he had to play the final ball in the action in front, where the line was still 40 meters behind.
Join the new WhatsApp community and receive a daily amount of mirror football content. We also treat community members with special offers, promotions and advertising. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, you can read the privacy notice.
Sky Sports Discount Premier League and EFL Packages

£43
£35
Sky
Get the deal here
Sky has cut the prices of Essential TV and Sky Sports bundles ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering over 1,400 live matches in the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, showing an even greater increase of up to 100.


