Arsenal completed their preseason with a dominant 3-0 win over Athletic Club as Mikel Arteta looked extremely confident heading into the new season.
The Gunners will kick-start the Premier League campaign on August 17 when they will lock horns against Manchester United away from home at the Old Trafford.
But before that match, Arsenal’s display against Bilbao will give the players and Arteta a lot of confidence as they aim to fight for the Premier League title.
It was momentous occasion for new signing Viktor Gyokeres, who scored his first goal for Arsenal, that too from a header from Martin Zubimendi’s cross.
There were doubts over his heading ability as he had only scored five times with his head for Sporting in 102 appearances. But he proved his doubters wrong with a powerful headed goal.
A couple of minutes later, Bukayo Saka scored the second goal to close out the first half and later Kai Havertz added the third in the second half, in a truly dominant display from the Gunners.
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Gyokeres moved to North London from Sporting for a whopping £63.5m ($85.4m) transfer package and there’s a lot at stake around this signing for the fans and also for Arteta.
The Gunners desperately needed a striker, and they secured the 27-year-old, who is returning to England after scoring 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting CP across two seasons.
He is tipped to be the main man for Arsenal who could help them take a step forward in the Premier League after finishing second in three consecutive seasons.
What did Mikel Arteta say about Gyokeres following the win?
There were concerns over the Swedish striker’s abilities in the preseason friendly against Villarreal but as he didn’t train for a couple of months, he lacked sharpness in the previous match.
Arteta was happy to see him score the first goal as he said, “That first goal is always very important. The way he took it as well, really well.”
“Everything that he does, his movement, timing, the way he predicates the next move, where the space is going to be, that’s the instinct he has. That’s why he’s scored so many goals in the last few seasons.
“He pins both centre backs. He’s a player that if you leave him with space one against one, he’s gonna destroy you so he’s going to create a lot of space for us.
“In any situation there is a player there that can score a goal.”
Apart from scoring goals, Gyokeres will also be donning the iconic No.14 jersey for Arsenal which holds a great significance among the fans as it was once worn by Thierry Henry.
Overall, Gyokeres will be key in deciding Arsenal’s fate for the upcoming 2025/26 campaign and fans just like Arteta are backing the 27-year-old to flourish.
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