Thierry Henry slams Viktor Gyokeres moment after Athletic Club v Arsenal, ‘there is no way…’

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Arsenal star Viktor Gyokeres has come under fire following his performance against Athletic Club in the Champions League.

The striker has had a mixed start to life in north London, with goals flowing but question marks over his tactical fit in the team.

Viktor Gyokeres is a very different profile to someone like Kai Havertz, who prefers to link-up play and knit it all together.

The Swedish international isn’t quite as involved in build-up play, featuring more at the end of moves rather than at the start.

This can leave him isolated, with Ally McCoist suggesting a tactical change to help Gyokeres get more involved.

While it remains to be seen whether Arsenal will take that on board, there is one moment from the striker that Thierry Henry has slammed.

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Thierry Henry left frustrated by Viktor Gyokeres’ chance in Athletic Club v Arsenal

Gyokeres had another frustrating night on an individual basis, as Arsenal beat Athletic Club to open their account in the Champions League.

The Swedish striker had a couple of big chances to score, including a glancing header that he put just wide of the post.

Perhaps the worst of all, however, was an opportunity for him to do what he does best.

Gyokeres has shown he possesses quality with space behind the defence, barrelling in on goal to get a shot away.

However, against Athletic Club, his one chance to do that wasn’t met with his best technical qualities.

A couple of poor touches saw the angle close down for him, as he could only get a scuffed shot away, despite being clear through on goal at one point.

It led to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry slamming the moment when speaking on CBS Sports.

“A ball has to go here across the defender,” the former forward said. “There’s no way that those guys [Athletic Club defenders] should catch you if you take care of the ball properly.

“He’s gonna have two chances to do it. He [the Athletic Club defender] doesn’t even look at what’s happening; he’s praying, they are praying, but that first touch is not going to be good.

“Second touch, look at how he’s gonna, he’s gonna go like this [zig-zag]… We all know that he’s been scoring, but away from home that has to be a goal.

“Martinelli made it a goal, and he didn’t have the space that he had, and obviously, he didn’t take the ball well here or there.

“There is no way from what we saw from the first line that you’re gonna put your hand on me to make sure that I’m not going to unleash and have a one-v-one.

“He should have had a one-v-one. You miss, you miss, but you should have had the one… I’m just saying the difference going one-nil up and still staying nil-nil.”

It’s a frustrating moment for Gyokeres, who will need to show that clinical edge Arsenal need at those key times.

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Viktor Gyokeres’ statistics in Athletic Club vs Arsenal

In the end, it was something of a frustrating night for Gyokeres, who managed 65 minutes before he was substituted for Leandro Trossard.

There was an expectation that when Arsenal signed Gyokeres, he would be the missing piece of the puzzle, but it looks as though there will need to be some adjustment from both sides to get the most out of him.

The 27-year-old managed just 19 touches in the match, cutting an isolated figure up front.

He did rack up 0.45xG, managing to get four shots off, three of which were off target, and the other was saved.

Winning three fouls helped to get Arsenal up the pitch, but with only seven passes overall, it shows just how difficult it is to get him into the game.

It’s something Mikel Arteta will have to ponder over as he continues to evolve with his team.