Arteta Praises Victor Gyokeres After Class Display Against Athletic Bilbao.

Victor Gyokeres, who signed for Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon for 63 million euros, has amazed the Gunners boss, Mikel Arteta, with his incredible performance against Athletic Bilbao.

The Swedish striker made his debut in a preseason friendly against the Spanish side Villarreal, which ended in a disappointing 3-1 defeat.

He came in in the 45th minute, had one shot on target, and made some runs behind the defenders in search of a goal, but all was up to nothing.

Today, Victor Gyokeres made his starting debut in the Emirates Cup preseason match against another Spanish team, Athletic Bilbao, and Mikel Arteta seemed to be loving what he saw.

He scored a header to open the scoring for the Gunners through an assist from Martin Zubimendi.

Victor Gyokeres scored for Arsenal — Credit: BeFootball on X

The striker’s runs and work rate on the opposition half have amazed the Gunners boss, as he hopes to see more of this in the coming season.

Arteta stated that, “That’s his nature. I think of everything he does: his movement, the way he times his runs, the way he predicts his next move, where the space is, and where the ball is going to land. That’s his instinct that he has…”

This is Victor Gyokeres second game as a Gunner, and credit where it’s due, his performance today has made the Gunners boss go mad for him.

Arteta believes that Gyokeres will be a key player for Arsenal this season.

Victor Gyokeres has proven himself in the Portuguese league as well as in European football.

His killer instinct in front of the goal has made him one of the most prolific strikers in world football.

Last season at Sporting Lisbon, he made 52 appearances, scored 54 goals, and assisted 13 times, bringing his goal contribution to 67.

He won the Bola de Prata (top scorer in Portugal’s Primeira Liga) after scoring 39 goals in 33 matches.

He was ranked second in the race for the European Golden Boot, just behind Kylian Mbappé in the points-weighted rankings.

With these stats, there is no doubt that he adds additional value to the already existing Arsenal of three attackers.

After finishing second in the English Premier League and being eliminated from the Champions League by PSG, the addition of Victor Gyokeres is a plus for Arsenal in terms of goal scoring.

Last season in the Premier League, Arsenal failed to score in many crucial matches. Their conversation rate dropped to 12.8% as compared to the last two seasons of 15.9%.

After match day 22, Arsenal failed to score from a dead-ball situation last season.

They failed to find the back of the net despite creating many, being considered as one of the teams that created decent chances, so the inclusion of Victor Gyokeres is an upgrade to the Gunners’ attack.

Will Victor Gyokeres Face Competition in the League for the Premier League Top Scorer Award?

Victor Gyokeres performance against Athletic Bilbao — Credit: Goals on X

The fact is that the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world, and it has world-class strikers.

Haaland, Isak, Salah, Ollie Watkins, etc., are the main names that come on board when we talk about the Premier League’s Golden Boot.

Last season, Mohamed Salah won the Premier League Golden Boot with 29 goals, followed by Alexander Isak with 23, Erling Haaland with 22, and Bryan Mbeumo (now a Manchester United player) from Brentford with 20 goals.

And with teams seriously adding value to their squad, especially their attack, Victor Gyokeres is set to face a tough battle in the race for the Golden Boot.

But despite all these elite strikers, the Gunners striker still has a chance, as Arsenal is seen as one of the teams that create a lot of chances in the Premier League.

As it stands now, the most important thing is for the player to settle in well and unleash his potential for the Gunners.