Arsenal kicked off their season with a 1-0 win over Manchester United, but it wasn’t the easiest of debuts for Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m).
We’ve got the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from this match in our latest Scout Notes article.
GYOKERES DEBUT
It’s still very early days for Gyokeres, but it was a tough start for the Swede at Old Trafford.
There were no shots or chances created during his time on the pitch, which lasted just under an hour before he was replaced by Kai Havertz (£7.5m).
He worked hard and did show flashes, but also misplaced five of his nine passes and looked a bit rusty throughout.
You’d think next week against Leeds United will be different, however.
“He did a lot of things very good. You can tell, especially in our high pressing, the rhythm that we demand, especially in the first half, we’re giving a bit too much time. It’s something that we have to work on, especially there. And then in the final situation, he didn’t have that many chances to do that because, as I said, on the previous action before we had to play that last ball that the line was standing still with 40 metres behind, we managed to put the ball through to exploit his quality. But overall, coming away to Manchester United, winning your first game with Arsenal, it’s a good start.” – Mikel Arteta on Viktor Gyokeres
Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) was the only Arsenal attacker to complete the match, but he had to wait until second-half injury time to record his only shot, which was blocked.
He created just one chance, too.
Plenty of room for improvement, then.
ANOTHER CORNER GOAL / RAYA + CALAFIORI IMPRESS
Arsenal won this match thanks to Declan Rice’s (£6.5m) first-half corner.
It’s no surprise: The Gunners have netted 31 Premier League goals from such situations since the start of the 2023/24 season, at least 11 more than anyone else.
With Andre Onana (£5.0m) dropped, Altay Bayindir (£5.0m) got the nod in goal for United, but he made a mess of Rice’s pinpoint delivery, gifting Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m) the winner.
The Italian, who was deployed at left-back in place of the benched Myles Lewis-Skelly (£5.5m), made a strong case to start again in Gameweek 2.
“He has the capacity to change the energy. He comes in this room and he changes the energy in the room, he changes the energy in the team. He has an aura, he has a presence that is special. And then he’s a player that is very unpredictable for the opponent because he can occupy very different spaces, he can do things in and around your box, in the middle, in the opposition box, that is very difficult to predict. So, very happy with him.” – Mikel Arteta on Riccardo Calafiori
Once ahead, it was typical Arsenal, as they sat deep and defended the box, which obviously blunted the attacking output of Gyokeres and co.
“The way everybody tried, the defence was phenomenal.” – Mikel Arteta
The Gunners were indebted to some fine David Raya (£5.5m) saves, however, with seven over the course of the match.
Three members of the first XI picked up defensive contribution (DefCon) points, too:
MBEUMO + CUNHA PROMISE
The fact that Raya was Arsenal’s best player says a lot about how this match went, and there were plenty of positives for Ruben Amorim to take.
Indeed, United had the better chances at Old Trafford, they just couldn’t score.
The Portuguese’ first XI featured two of his new attacking recruits in Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m).
The pair combined for nine shots (five for Mbeumo, four for Cunha) and caused plenty of problems for William Saliba (£6.0m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.0m), who aren’t easily unsettled.
With Mason Mount (£6.0m) playing off the left, Cunha led the line and would have scored if not for a superb Raya save.
As for Mbeumo, nearly everything seemed to be going through him at one point, and he looked like a major threat. He also took a few corners and free-kicks from the right.
“Everybody can understand they are very good players for that position. It didn’t need a lot of work to feel that is their position.” – Ruben Amorim on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha
Still, United arguably lacked a focal point, with Cunha often looking to drop deeper into the pockets.
That should improve once Benjamin Sesko (£7.5m) settles, having been handed 25 minutes off the bench on Sunday.
“We were more aggressive than last year. We sprint more. We were braver. We let one against one all the game. We pressed high. And then with the ball, we have quality. Even when the stadium makes some sounds, we continue to play the way we play. We lost fewer balls in the build-up, compared to last year, was [where] we struggled a lot. And then the small things that we talk about in the beginning of this season, that players like Cunha, like Bryan [Mbeumo], in one moment can elevate the stadium. So, I think the most important thing, we were not boring.” – Ruben Amorim
Elsewhere, Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) wasn’t at his best but did create a match-high five chances and almost hit the DefCon bonus (11).
Wing-back Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m) attempted a couple of shots and struck the outside of the post in the first half, whereas Amad Diallo (£6.5m) was benched in favour of Diogo Dalot (£4.5m) on the other flank, as Amorim chose to adopt a more cautious approach at the outset.
United visit Craven Cottage next but then host newly-promoted Burnley in Gameweek 3, so expect interest in their attackers to quickly ramp up, even if the overall outlook is a bit of a mixed bag.
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