The impact that Viktor Gyökeres is making for his country and for Arsenal

 

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By Tony Attwood

Untold tends not to take too much interest in international football, save when one or more of Arsenal’s players are needlessly injured and as a result our push for a cup or title takes another tumble.  But last night does, I think, have to be mentioned.

For Viktor Gyökeres (of whom, according to the Guardian writing as so often on football matters without any evidence at all) “Arsenal fans are yet to be fully enamoured,” got a hat trick which even the English media can describe as “deserved”.

Now this “yet to be fully enamoured” comment is a typical newspaper throwaway line if a journalist is writing about an Arsenal player.  For the standard editorial instruction is to start with a negative, and in that comment above, we have a perfect example.  It is a statement that cannot be checked in any way – a ludicrous personal opinion given as a fact.   One might instead point out that he was brought in as a centre forward, but told to play in a different style and approach from that which he had with Brighton and Hove Albion, whom he left in 2021. 

Of course, there is a downside to having this particular player as out goalscorer, as he plays also for his country,  which means that he will play through the summer under a manager who has no interest in his well-being beyond the end of Sweden’s time in the World Cup (for which they are still trying to qualify).   So if injured, will be sent back with the preverbial note “have him fit and ready for the next international”.   But for the moment, we can share his joy, and just hope he and his manager take care.  

So what about this, “Arsenal fans are yet to be fully enamoured” snide remark?   It is of course, the sort of thing we are used to on a daily basis, but it doesn’t make such a comment any more acceptable.  It suggests that somehow we are unable to judge the value of a player because we are fans of Arsenal.    Or maybe, through being fans of Arsenal, we can’t value a player.  Either way, it is a nasty, and utterly unnecessary comment.

Our problem is that Sweden still has to win one more match, although that is against Pland who are called “directionless” and ” disconsolate” in a recent newspaper report.

The extra game arose after Sweden came bottom of Group B with just two points.   Apparently, a lot of this is down to the manager Graham Potter – who previously managed Östersund. in the Swedish league.   And indeed the Swedes obviously like him since he has a contract to manage the Sweden team until 2030.   Of  Gyökeres he said. “To score a hat-trick was one thing.   But I thought his overall performance, his hold-up play, his defensive responsibility to the team, was incredible.”

Now we all know that when a national newspaper or a commentator on international football starts talking about an individual player, one has to be careful, and just as the negative comments made about an Arsenal player need to be checked against the facts, so we have to check the positive ones too.    So, below are the details for this season for Arsenal.   And please note that in the table below, all cards are “yellow cards”.  There are no red cards to record.

 

	Player	Games	Goals	Pens	Cards	Position
14	Gyökeres	33	16	2	4	Forward
11	Martinelli	20	11		3	Forward
10	Eze	29	9		2	Midfielder/Forward
7	Saka	32	9	2	1	Midfielder/Forward

 

So we have a player who, in his first season with Arsenal, scored 16 goals in 33 games.   And I stress “first season” because, as we all know, Arsenal’s way of playing is not the way of playing of other teams.

What’s more, all through last summer, the media were howling at Arsenal to sign a centre forward, and various names were put forward – but I don’t think anyone particularly mentioned Viktor Gyökeres.  He was a Brighton and Hove player whom Brighton couldn’t figure out, so they loaned him to FC St Pauli, Swansea City and Coventry City before finally selling him to Sporting Clube Portugal, from whom Arsenal bought him.

According to the AI overview (not always reliable I know, but sometimes helpful) “Viktor Gyökeres established himself as one of Europe’s most prolific strikers,” playing for  Sporting Lisbon, where he scored an incredible 97 goals in 102 appearances helping his team to win consecutive league titles, the national cup and of course beinhg the top scorer in each of his two seasons there.   He also scored 12 goals in his last 17 appearances for Sweden.”

Let’s hope he doesn’t get injured in these international games!