Vieira Flags Gyokeres Scoring Drought as Arsenal Stumble Against United

Patrick Vieira has voiced his unease about Viktor Gyokeres' goal return after Arsenal's Sunday collapse against Manchester United, which saw the Red Devils snatch a 3-2 victory with a Matheus Cunha thunderbolt three minutes from time.

The Gunners had clawed their way level at 2-2 through Mikel Merino's 84th-minute effort, only to be undone by Cunha's clinical finish. The defeat has allowed Manchester City and Aston Villa to trim Arsenal's Premier League advantage to just four points, piling fresh scrutiny on Mikel Arteta's outfit.

Gyokeres has managed just five top-flight goals since his move from Sporting CP, where he had plundered 97 in 102 appearances. That sharp drop-off has not gone unnoticed by the Arsenal legend.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Vieira stated: "Of course it is a concern because you want your No. 9 to score goals. You want them to get into double figures and that's not the case right now."

The former Gunners captain acknowledged Arsenal's continued league leadership but stressed the need for a more clinical approach in the final third. "That is the concern but Arsenal are still top of the league so that means they are doing something good. It's a collective game and there's a lot of players with four or five goals," Vieira explained.

"They need to create more for the strikers and put them in better positions to create chances and score goals. By doing that maybe you need the ball in the box more rather than recycling the ball. They have a physical presence so they need more balls in the box and more players in the box."

Beyond the goalscoring issue, Vieira questioned the mental fortitude of Arteta's squad, particularly their approach and energy levels against United. "They are still four points clear, but there are still questions about the mental strength of the team," he observed.

"It's not just that they lost the game, it's the way they lost the game. Saka and Trossard didn't produce enough to worry United."

The Sky Sports pundit called for greater leadership within the ranks and a return to the attacking freedom that has defined Arsenal's season. "They need a leader to lift the spirit of the team. They need to understand when they are on the pitch they have to play with more energy and more risks. They have the quality," Vieira continued.

"They didn't play with the freedom to express themselves. They need to go back to the basics and to express themselves, play with freedom, and go forward. There were too many players that didn't perform today. It was a must-win game. They needed to send a message to the rest of the teams in the league."

When pressed on Vieira's assessment post-match, Arteta remained measured in his response. "That's fine, we accept every opinion, where it comes and where it's coming from and they will have the right reasons to say it," the Arsenal boss said.

"At the end we have to show the mental strength that we have on the pitch when it comes to a match day and we were absolutely brilliant in Milan and today we weren't that good. I don't know if it was mental because of how much they played, but because we were poor, especially technically in certain aspects of the game against a team that, when you make those mistakes, they can punish you big time and that was the difference."