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Underwhelming Gyokeres debut shows why Arsenal need a striker so badly Toothless Gunners

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (left) and Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven fight for the ball during their friendly match at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong. –AFPPIC

A debut defeat and an outing that was underwhelming but left the sense he was underused may matter little. When it comes to competitive games, Viktor Gyokeres’s Arsenal bow will come at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Aug 17. But as he donned their No. 14 shirt for the first time in a game, Arsenal at least showed the need for Gyokeres, the forward who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting CP. The first north London derby staged outside the United Kingdom yielded a 1-0 loss to Tottenham, with Arsenal registering a lone shot on target, which Kai Havertz directed at Guglielmo Vicario. Gyokeres was limited to the last 20 minutes, including stoppage time, as Arsenal were largely toothless. The argument that they needed a specialist goalscorer is scarcely new, but perhaps it was underlined when they spent an initial £55 million (RM319m) to acquire one. He was given the ultimate Arsenal goalscorer’s shirt, the No. 14 made special by Thierry Henry.

He had brought on Gyokeres along with a lower-profile recruit, in defender Cristhian Mosquera, and added: “I’m really happy to have them here. “I think they are going to add a lot of value. You see straight away the energy and the quality they are going to bring. “Everything that I’ve seen in the last 10 days gives me a lot of encouragement,” added Arteta, who took positives from the performance despite losing. “We are ahead of what I was expecting in many areas.” Arsenal ended their Asian tour on a relative low. After beating AC Milan and Newcastle, they lost to Thomas Frank’s Tottenham. It amounted to an encouraging outing for Spurs new manager. They won courtesy of a spectacular goal, Pape Matar Sarr chipping David Raya from 50 yards after Myles Lewis Skelly had lost the ball. “It was fantastic, fantastic. Well taken,” said Frank of the goal. “And all the credit to Papa. He’s impressed me, I must admit he’s been really

Perhaps his first goal in it will come at the Emirates Stadium: Arsenal have further friendlies against Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao on home soil. Arsenal will trust that, when the serious business starts, Gyokeres will be found in the right place at the right time, and that it leads to goals. The Gunners had been waiting for Gyokeres: for a year, some might say, given the desire of many fans to buy a professional predator last summer. For weeks, definitely, given the hope they would have sprung into action the instant the transfer window opened, rather than signing him on July 26. They had to wait a further 77 minutes, Mikel Arteta waiting before bringing on the buy who – one way or another – is likely to define the summer spending spree. He got a rapturous reception from the Hong Kong public, who may have envisaged seeing him sooner. “It was a short one, but at least that one is over now,” said Arteta.

good in the last four weeks.” For a pre-season “friendly”, there was no love lost on the pitch between the bitter rivals. Tackles flew in and tempers frayed in a fiercely contested clash in front of a 50,000 sellout crowd under the roof in the air conditioned Kai Tak Stadium. Sarr’s screamer gave Frank the north London bragging rights, at least until the pair clash again in the Premier League on Nov 22 at the Emirates stadium. “It feels very pleasing of course. It’s clear that this was not a friendly, it felt like a competitive match,” Frank said. “If you saw it, it was competitive and if you played in it, it was very competitive. “But some of the bits we’ve been working hard on is the combination of the defensive organisation – so high pressure, middle and low – so there’s clear principles. “As well as the desire to keep a clean sheet because that gives you a big opportunity to win football matches.” – The Independent/AFP/ Agencies

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