Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres was subjected to a ruthless review from media in his home country after failing to make an impact in Sweden’s shock 2–0 defeat to Kosovo on Monday evening.
In the absence of Alexander Isak, who is still building his way back to full fitness after spending the summer on strike in an effort to force through his move to Liverpool, Gyökeres led the line for Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side in their second World Cup qualifier.
After teeing up Sweden’s second goal in a 2–2 draw with Slovenia last week to begin their campaign, Arsenal’s summer recruit struggled in Pristina. Gyökeres was not entirely starved of service, taking 44 touches, including a healthy 12 in Kosovo’s penalty area, yet only forced Arijanet Muric into one save during his 90 minutes on the pitch.
Swedish outlet Expressen were scathing in their assessment of the striker’s performance, taking aim at the professional’s physical conditioning. “It is noticeable that he is not in his best shape, the touch is not quite there and Gyökeres often lost the ball,” a piece jointly penned by Therese Strömberg and Linus Petersson read. “He did dig up a couple of half-chances in the first half, but it is not enough. This was too bad a performance by the attacking star.”
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Fotbollskanalen were more forgiving. Gyökeres was deemed to be “acceptable” in the first half but proved to be “invisible” after the interval.
Gyökeres was routinely lauded for his physique during his time at Sporting CP. His former manager Ruben Amorim liked to joke that he had a body “from God,” yet there has been a lumbering sense of sluggishness pervading through his first few appearances at Arsenal.
That is to be expected. Much like Isak, Gyökeres snubbed Sporting’s pre-season training to secure his Premier League switch, only joining up with midway through Arsenal’s tour of Asia.
Following a disjointed Premier League debut against Manchester United, Mikel Arteta admitted: “You can tell especially in our high press and rhythm that we demand, that especially in the first half we were giving a bit too much time. It is something that we have to work on him, especially there.”
The Swede has opened his Arsenal account, nabbing a brace at home to Leeds United, but once again failed to make an impact against Liverpool, focusing more on wrestling with Ibrahima Konaté.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Viktor Gyokeres Torn Apart By Swedish Media Over International Display, Faces Worrying Accusation.
