Arsenal fans urge Mikel Arteta to axe starter who was a ‘disgrace’ vs Club Brugge: ‘He won’t make it here’
Arsenal fans have ripped into Viktor Gyokeres after he was outperformed by the returning Gabriel Jesus in their Champions League win against Club Brugge.
Gyokeres‘ performances since joining Arsenal from Sporting CP for an initial fee of £55million have not been able to win the majority of the clubs’ fans over as yet.
The Swede scored six goals in his first 14 games for the club, but suffered a hamstring injury in early November which ruled him out of action for nearly a month, and has struggled since his return to the team.
Arsenal fans slammed Gyokeres for his showing off the bench against Aston Villa last weekend as they were defeated 2-1, but he was still handed a start by Mikel Arteta against Brugge on Wednesday (10 December) night.
Gyokeres again struggled to impress, despite their 3-0 win in Belgium, while Jesus returned from a lengthy lay-off and played well in his place.
Gyokeres struggled vs Brugge while Jesus did well on his return from injury
Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners against Brugge with ease on Wednesday night, but Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli shone while Gyokeres was left to struggle in attack once more.
The 27-year-old only touched the ball 12 times in the 62 minutes he played, while he missed a big chance, was dispossessed twice and lost four of the six duels he attempted.
He was replaced by Jesus just after the hour mark, who took 20 touches in his half-hour on the pitch, while he hit the crossbar with a well-worked chance in the 78th minute, created a chance, drew a foul and won both of the duels he was involved in.
Jesus has been out injured since January after suffering an ACL tear against Man United, yet he clearly performed better than the Swede despite his lack of match fitness.
Arsenal fans rip into Gyokeres for being outperformed by Jesus
Arsenal have been tipped to sell Jesus in January after his full recovery, but his impressive return to action may well push Arteta to make sure he stays for the remainder of the campaign.
Gyokeres’ poor recent showings could mean that the Brazilian is handed a bigger chance to stake his claim to start over him, with many Gunners supporters already advocating that to happen.
Taking to X, one fan said: “Man, I hate to be that guy but look at the difference in class with Gabriel Jesus at CF and Viktor Gyokeres. Every touch and every movement is precise and deadly from Jesus. Considering how long he has been out too.”
Another posed a question, asking: “How’s Jesus giving me more substance in a 10 min cameo than Gyokeres in 10 games?” which racked up over three thousand likes in agreement.
While one added: “Gabriel Jesus is just a few games away from taking his spot back. He shows certain fundamentals that Gyokeres just doesn’t have, I’m sorry.”