Viktor Gyokeres opened his account for Arsenal as the Gunners ended pre-season with an emphatic 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
After failing to get on the scoresheet in his first two appearances against Tottenham and Villarreal, the Swedish striker got off the mark at the Emirates against the Basque side, his first goal since completing his £64m move from Sporting.
Gyokeres broke the deadlock for Mikel Arteta’s side in the late afternoon kick-off, latching onto a wonderful delivery from fellow newcomer Martin Zubimendi to pummel a header beyond goalkeeper Unai Simon, who had no time to react before his net was bulging.
His goal opened the floodgates for Arsenal, who doubled their lead just two minutes later.
Martin Odegaard dinked one over the top for Gabriel Martinelli to control, and with Simon in no man’s land, he slipped it right to Bukayo Saka who could roll into an empty net.
Gyokeres came close to adding to his tally after the break, hitting the woodwork with a diving header as he continued to demonstrate his aerial prowess.
And while he was substituted in the 70th minute, he received a standing ovation from the Emirates faithful.
His replacement Kai Havertz went on to add to the scoreline late on, holding off the challenge of two defenders to make it 3-0 on the day.
Fans will hope this is a sign of things to come ahead of the new Premier League season, with Arsenal’s domestic campaign kicking off against Manchester United next weekend.
Gyokeres has already proven himself as a prolific European striker, scoring 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting over the last two seasons. He has even outscored Alexander Isak for Sweden of late, hitting 12 in his last 17 appearances.
He will be expected to lead the Arsenal line as Arteta hopes to break his side’s second-place curse and finally lift the Premier League title.
