Viktor Gyokeres made his first appearance at the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal against Villarreal.
It was not an ideal start for the Sweden international in front of supporters in north London, as the Gunners conceded twice within 33 minutes – Nicolas Pepe even returned to haunt Arsenal with the opener.
Christian Norgaard pulled one back in the 36th minute on his home debut, although a goal from former Tottenham man Arnaut Danjuma secured a 3-2 win for Villarreal, despite a penalty from Martin Odegaard causing a late scare for the Yellow Submarine.
However – result aside – fans spotted a concerning issue between Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka throughout the friendly.
Arsenal fans think Bukayo Saka was failing to deliver for Viktor Gyokeres
The £64m man was visibly trying hard to make an impact on his first outing at the Emirates Stadium, making several runs into space, but struggled to link up with the Arsenal No.7 against Villarreal.
Saka failed to register a key pass in the opening 45 minutes as Gyokeres fed off scraps – ending his 63 minutes on the pitch with just one key pass to his name – although Gabriel Martinelli and others in the attack were also to blame for this lack of service, in fairness.
One Arsenal fan posted: “Gyokeres is simply not getting the service he needs. Saka doesn’t seem to be trying to create for him. Arteta hasn’t changed our style or tactics, we need to be more direct to allow Gyokeres to run into space.”
Another wrote: “Arteta need to make it clear to his players, let’s feed Gyokeres – otherwise what’s the point of buying him if Saka (doesn’t) want to pass.”
In fairness to the pair, this is the first game they have ever started alongside each other, so it might take time for some chemistry to form.
A third Arsenal fan commented: “Over 20 minutes and I’ve not seen one intentional (bit of) service towards Gyokeres. Even when Saka and Martinelli had good space and (a) chance to find the striker, they played nonsense.
“This is why I think (Eberechi) Eze is the main key (or) else it’s (going to) be a hurtful sight watching this team continue playing like this.”
TBR Football understand Arsenal have held talks about signing Eze from Crystal Palace, and it remains a move which could materialise.
Others posted to complain that Saka kept shooting instead of supplying Gyokeres – and the England international did not register a single accurate cross in his 63 minutes of action, according to Sofascore.
Bukayo Saka connection is only a matter of time if Viktor Gyokeres keeps dazzling coaches in training
The 27-year-old only arrived at Arsenal less than two weeks ago, so he can be forgiven for not having much of a partnership with Saka just yet.
However, it will surely come if the man born in Stockholm continues performing the way he is in training.
TBR Football understand Gyokeres has blown Arsenal coaches away with his application in training sessions since joining from Sporting CP – showing real professionalism as he makes a strong first impression.
Therefore, a connection with Saka is surely only just a matter of time.
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