London [UK], August 7 : Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta believes their latest acquisition, Viktor Gyokeres, who came with a hefty price tag, is making progress at the club after his silent outing against Spanish outfit Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal fans, who endured weeks of negotiations to see Gyokeres don the Gunners jersey, eventually got their wishes fulfilled. The prolific number nine finally arrived in London from Portugal and made his home debut. While many believe that the Swedish striker was the final missing piece of the puzzle that would ignite Arsenal's Premier League ambitions, but instead got a reality check.
Gyokeres showed signs of struggling to adjust his game around his new teammates and remained in the hunt for his first Arsenal goal. Arteta believes that the 27-year-old needs more gametime to build a connection with his new teammates to get into the position he needs to be.
"He's been with us only a week or so, but I already saw a lot of things and a lot of purpose, especially the way he was attacking in certain spaces. So, in general, for a lot of players that haven't played many minutes, we have a lot now that they're going to be ready for Saturday in a much better condition," he told reporters as quoted from Goal.com.
"I hope days and every day in training, I think he's getting a really good feeling. I think he's built connections as well outside, which I think is really important with players that are going to help him to be in the position that he needs to get in. His fitness level, I think he hasn't trained really with the team for two months, so he's done now six or five sessions, I think, before today. So, I think on Saturday, again, I think he will take another step and he will be in a better condition," he added.
After suffering a 3-2defeat against Villarreal, Arsenal have one more game left in the annual Emirates Cup against Athletic Club, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday. The Gunners will then bolster their preparations for the season opener against Manchester United on August 17.