We must help him — Arsenal boss Arteta calls for support for new signing

Mikel Arteta has called on his Arsenal squad to unite in supporting summer signing Viktor Gyokeres, who struggled in his competitive debut, a hard-fought 1-0 win over Manchester United.

The £63.4m striker from Sporting CP completed just four passes and failed to register a shot on goal, drawing criticism.

Ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Leeds United, Arteta defended Gyokeres, attributing his quiet performance to subpar build-up play from teammates.

“I think we are going to be extremely happy when he starts to put the ball in the back of the net very, very often, which is his biggest ability,” Arteta told the media.

“So the team and myself, we have a big responsibility to help him and to understand him to be more efficient and the first game was a really demanding game and we will take it from there.

"He is ready to go again. He’s very, very enthusiastic. He trained really well this week. Again, he had another week under his belt, he looks in a really good place.”

Arteta planned a gradual integration for Gyökeres, but Kai Havertz’s knee injury has forced a rethink.

“Unfortunately, he picked up an injury and we don’t really know yet the extent of it. I think we need a bit more time and some more tests and after that we’ll have more clarity about the next steps.”