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Viktor Gyokeres needs to adapt to his Arsenal team-mates if he wants to be a success.
That was the assessment of former Premier League striker Daniel Sturridge and ex-defender Micah Richards after watching the new Gunners man in action against Manchester United on Sunday.
Gyokeres made his long-awaited debut as Arsenal ran out 1-0 winners at Old Trafford, with Riccardo Calafiori scoring the only goal from a set-piece.
The former Sporting striker failed to have a single shot during an hour-long display, and recorded just three touches in the opposition penalty box. By contrast, fellow debutant Benjamin Sesko had four touches in the box for United in less than half the time.
It was the first time since Gyokeres left England - having previously played for the likes of Coventry and Brighton before moving to Portugal - that he failed to have a single shot in a match.
"He's going to have to also alter his game," Sturridge said of Gyokeres, adding: "It's not just about the team changing for him. It's about him changing for the team also, and understanding how he's going to perform best.
"The manager is going to have to implement certain things on the training pitch. He's going to have to have personal conversations. And that's what it takes for you to hit the ground running.
"Gyokeres is used to playing a specific way with Sporting Lisbon throughout his career I think he has been a traditional centre-forward who's going to make runs in behind, he's a strong player, he's got pace, he's powerful, and his game is predicated on that power and those first yards of making a run to get himself in a position to get a shot off."
"He didn't look sharp today."
Micah Richards added: "Do you expect someone to be the sharpest on the first game of the season? Daniel makes a great point about how to adapt to the team ... but today he just looked a little bit frustrated.
"The atmosphere was just a lot for him today. I think it will be different once he goes to Emirates and he's got the home fans behind him. He struggled today, but we didn't expect him to be at his best today."
