'Something must change': How Viktor Gyokeres can spark Arsenal season into life
One moment at Portman Road on Tuesday night summed up Viktor Gyokeres ' current standing at Arsenal .
Drifting out to the right wing, he took four touches as he considered his options. Three Arsenal players were free and waiting for a pass inside.
A fourth, Noni Madueke, made a move to open up some space. Misreading that run, Gyokeres scooped a pass in behind the Ipswich defence, away from any red shirts, and straight out of play.
Madueke put his face in his hands. Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly threw up their arms in frustration. Max Dowman slumped his shoulders and looked up to the sky.
It was a small moment, the kind of poor decision that any player can make and be forgiven for. In Gyokeres' case, though, it felt symptomatic of a player not functioning at the same level as those around him.
The most concerning aspect of Gyokeres' performance against Ipswich was not that misplaced pass. Nor was it that he managed just one shot, or lost three of his four duels.
It was that the intent to make an impact on the game, regardless of whether that came off, was glaringly absent.
Out of form: Viktor Gyokeres has been very disappointing for Arsenal this season Getty When Madueke was beating his man and putting in crosses, Gyokeres was not making runs to get into his space. For a striker with his goal record, he is remarkably static in the box, too often content to wrestle with a defender and hope the ball comes to him.
Gyokeres scored 14 league goals last season and 11 of those came against sides in the bottom half. Those games against weaker sides were his strength.
A rotated Ipswich side, then, should have been ideal for him. Instead, the matches in which you would trust Gyokeres to make an impact now feel vanishingly thin.
In Naples last week, he had three touches inside the opposition box. That was as many as centre-back Ezri Konsa and fewer than six other Arsenal players.
Gyokeres managed only two against Ipswich. Madueke had nine, Merino five. Christos Tzolis, who came on in the 76th minute, registered two.
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