Viktor Gyökeres acknowledged that it would be premature to judge him based solely on his brief 14-minute appearance in Arsenal’s pre-season debut, which ended in a 0-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby in Hong Kong on Thursday (31 July 2025).
Arsenal fans had hoped the Swedish striker would shine immediately, but he seemed unsettled and still looked awkward. Statistics also showed minimal contribution from the former Sporting CP striker.
In his 14 minutes on the pitch, he scored no goals, provided no assists and had only two touches of the ball, one of which was inside the opponent’s goal area. However, he did create one chance and achieved a 100% pass completion rate.
Despite performing below expectations, Gyökeres asked the public for understanding, explaining that he wasn’t yet in optimal condition. “I’ve only participated in one training session so far. I need a few more to perform better,” he said in a YouTube interview.
Manager Mikel Arteta also appears willing to give Gyökeres an early start to help him adapt. Given Arsenal’s demanding tactical system, extra time and training are crucial for the striker to adapt both technically and socially.
Arteta and his coaching staff are reportedly ready to work more intensively with the 26-year-old in the coming weeks to help him reach his full potential.
Although his debut was underwhelming, there’s no reason to panic. Gyokeres has only been with the club for a week and is expected to perform even better when the Premier League season resumes — particularly in the match against Arsenal on 17 August 2025.