‘We need a refund’ – Arsenal fans furious with player who was ‘bullied’ in loss vs Aston Villa
Arsenal supporters were out for blood after Mikel Arteta’s players threw away an away draw against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Martin Keown was blown away by David Raya after an early save against Ollie Watkins, but the goalkeeper could do absolutely nothing to stop Matty Cash’s effort from bulging the back of the net on 6 December.
The Gunners made two changes at the half-time break, with Viktor Gyokeres and Leandro Trossard coming on, and it was the latter who managed to score the equaliser just seven minutes later.
It also meant that Eberechi Eze was sacrificed by the manager following an invisible first-half display, but with Emi Buendia scoring a buzzer-beating winner, the visitors were sunk at Villa Park.
Arsenal fans go for Viktor Gyokeres after Aston Villa slip-up
Understandably, the travelling supporters were furious with the result, especially as it gave Man City a chance to close the gap at the top of the Premier League table.
And with Gyokeres unable to make the expected impact at Villa Park, one supporter was angry enough to say, “We need a refund,” and another suggested that he could be sold sooner rather than later.
With a few fans suggesting that the Gunners will be better once Kai Havertz returns from injury, many are already fed up with the Sweden international, with one “starting to give up” on him.
- @tdadlytmld: “As much as I like Gyokeres and want him to do well, he looks like a player that we might sell after one or two seasons.”
- @GenericGooner: “Gyokeres was never going to be good enough, let’s get real here. A good record in Portugal means very little elsewhere, as we’ve seen with a litany of other forwards from that league.”
- @Augustinekusi69: “I’m starting to give up on Gyokeres now.”
Gyokeres’ second-half performance in numbers after replacing Mikel Merino
During his 45 minutes on the pitch, neither set of supporters really noticed his presence in the final third, unable to get a single shot off, while having just 11 touches of the ball [FotMob].
He also completed just four of his seven attempted passes, delivered zero accurate crosses, and will have desperately disappointed his manager, especially given Trossard’s immediate impact.
The 27-year-old has only four Premier League goals since his £63million arrival from Sporting CP, but with the Gunners in need of a talisman up front, a growing number of supporters are becoming concerned.
Havertz and Gabriel Jesus appear to be close to a return from injury soon, which will be a huge boost for the London club, but the defeat will take some getting over for the Gunners.