Viktor Gyokeres was left on the bench again as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0, extending a frustrating run of early-season involvement for the forward and adding another layer to the transfer chatter around him.
The Sweden international has struggled for minutes since the start of the campaign. He featured for only 15 minutes in Arsenal's Community Shield win over Manchester City, then failed to get on the pitch against Coventry last week before being unused again at Villa Park in a second consecutive league match.
That limited role has already fuelled speculation about his future ahead of transfer deadline day, with Barcelona among the clubs linked to him. Arsenal, meanwhile, have also trimmed their attacking ranks by allowing Ethan Nwaneri to join Borussia Dortmund on loan, which makes the current forward picture even more notable.
Arteta backs the squad
After the win, Mikel Arteta said the result came down to the whole group, not just the players who started. He described it as a squad victory and said he was pleased with the attitude shown across the team, even if there were still areas to improve.
Arteta also pointed to physical issues within the squad as part of the reason some players did not feature. His message was clear: there will be opportunities for everyone as the season goes on.
“It was a squad performance and a squad victory today and I’m sad for the ones that didn’t have the chance to play because they all want to be participating,” Arteta said. “But sometimes you have certain issues with players physically that you have to make changes and I’m sure there are going to be minutes for everybody.”
He added that the game was always likely to open up at some point, and praised the attitude of every player on the pitch. Arsenal still had to manage moments of pressure, but the win continued a strong defensive stretch that included six clean sheets in seven league outings during last season's run-in.
Gyokeres had been productive before arriving at this stage, scoring 22 goals last term, which is why the lack of minutes has become such a talking point. For Arsenal, the next question is whether this is simply a short-term selection issue or the start of a more complicated situation for a forward who has already attracted outside attention.
With the season still developing, Arteta's stance suggests Gyokeres is not being shut out of the picture. But after another unused appearance, the pressure to turn those words into minutes is growing.
