'They weren't on the same wavelength' - Viktor Gyökeres under fire as World Champion warns

Viktor Gyökeres, Arsenal's new signing, played 60 minutes in his Premier League debut against Manchester United (1-0), but failed to register a single shot on goal.

Arsenal negotiated with Sporting for nearly the entire summer to sign Viktor Gyökeres, eventually securing him for €65.8 million. However, after his first official appearance for the Gunners against Manchester United, the verdict is far from encouraging: "Not worth the money!"

In the 60 minutes he played, the former Sporting goalscorer was a complete disappointment. Lacking support from his teammates, the Swedish striker failed to get a single shot on United's goal. A blank!

The criticism has been relentless, with former world champion Franck Leboeuf, now a TV pundit, offering a harsh conclusion in his analysis for ESPN.

He said, "My concern is this: Why bring in a player like Gyökeres if the team doesn't play in a way that utilises his strengths? It's pointless."

Leboeuf, who played for Chelsea and Olympique Marseille among others, hopes that something "will change, and Gyökeres will deliver. But in his first Premier League match, I felt like I was watching Højlund at Manchester United. He had very little influence on the game."

The difference between him and his teammates? "He wanted to play vertically, direct, with tempo – but he didn't receive any usable passes. The others were slow. They weren't on the same wavelength as him," analyzed the 1998 World Cup winner with France.

Questioned by English journalists after the match, manager Mikel Arteta stated that Gyökeres was not to blame for his forgettable debut in an Arsenal shirt. "The problem isn't the player, it's the team. That's why he didn't have any shots on goal."

"He did many things very well, especially concerning his pressing and speed. But we failed to bring him into the game with our passing. Our play in the final third was too static," explained the Spanish manager of Arsenal.