Neville Tears Into Gyokeres After Toothless Liverpool Display as Arteta Scrambles to Defend Forward

Gary Neville didn't hold back on Viktor Gyokeres following Arsenal's clash with Liverpool, tearing into the summer signing for a performance that fell well short of expectations. The Manchester United legend's assessment was withering: the Swedish striker was "really poor" and "offered nothing" in a display that had him watching from the bench well before the final whistle.

Gyokeres' struggles continued the sorry trend that's defined his time at the Emirates since arriving from Sporting Lisbon for roughly £64m. The 27-year-old, who had been prolific in Portugal, has found the Premier League a considerably tougher proposition. With just one goal in his last nine top-flight outings, the Gunners' investment is looking increasingly questionable.

His night against Liverpool ended in the 64th minute when Arteta hauled him off. By that point, Gyokeres had managed just eight touches—a damning statistic for any centre-forward tasked with leading the line. Neville's reaction to the substitution was one of resignation rather than surprise.

"Not a surprise, that," the pundit observed. "He's been ineffective, and that's being kind. It's a really poor night from him, he offered nothing."

The crux of Neville's critique went beyond the obvious: a lack of service. Instead, he highlighted Gyokeres' failure to impose himself on proceedings through intelligent positioning and movement. "There's not getting service and then there's getting involved in the game and doing more – and he needed to do more," Neville explained.

He elaborated on what a striker of Gyokeres' calibre should be doing regardless of circumstances. "Forwards have to be in the right position in the box. They have to be making those runs across the goalkeeper, across the near post, sliding into the six-yard box. He didn't do that, which is what I'm disappointed in."

The pundit acknowledged that when creativity dries up, strikers can still contribute through graft. "If you're not doing that you've got to do the ugly bit – the pressing, holding the ball up. But I don't think he contributed anything to the game tonight."

Arteta, unsurprisingly, took a different line when asked about his forward's performance. Rather than echoing Neville's assessment, the Arsenal boss offered a measured—if somewhat unconvincing—defence of Gyokeres.

"He was in great positions," Arteta said post-match. "Sometimes the ball didn't arrive."

The manager pointed to Arsenal's own failings in the final third. "There were situations where we got into the six-yard box that are normally a goal or you pick somebody out to score a goal. We didn't do that and that's the thing that today, we have to improve."

When pressed on whether Gyokeres is improving, Arteta's response was affirmative but hardly enthusiastic: "Yes."

The reality is that Arsenal paid handsomely for a striker who looked a world-beater in Lisbon but has struggled to translate that form to English football. With performances like this, questions about whether the move was a masterstroke or a misstep will only intensify.