Patrick Vieira ‘concerned’ about Arsenal signing after Manchester United defeat

Patrick Vieira admitted the form of Arsenal summer signing Viktor Gyokeres was a ‘concern’ after the Gunners were beaten at home by Manchester United.

Arsenal’s reliance on set-pieces was once again on display in Sunday’s deflating 3-2 loss at home to resurgent United.

The hosts’ opener, a Lisandro Martinez own goal, came from two crosses while Mikel Merino’s late goal came from a corner.

Arsenal have been brilliant from set-pieces so far this season but they are threatening to become over-reliant on this route to goal, as highlighted by the fact only three Premier League teams have scored less goals than them from open play.

Gyokeres was signed to if not solve then at least mitigate Arsenal’s goalscoring issues but the £64m summer recruit has only contributed five league goals.

The former Manchester United target has in fact netted just twice in the Premier League since mid-September, losing his place in the team in recent weeks to the returning Gabriel Jesus.

Vieira admits Gyokeres’ lack of goals is a ‘concern’ for an Arsenal side chasing their first league title since 2004 and believes the team must do more to feed the various attackers.

‘Of course it is a concern because you want your No. 9 to score goals,’ the ex-Arsenal captain said on Sky Sports. ‘You want them to get into double figures and that’s not the case right now.

‘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.

‘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.’

Arsenal were hoping to restore their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League against Manchester United but a deflating defeat leaves Manchester City just four points behind.

Vieira, the last Gunners captain to lift the Premier League trophy, questioned the current team’s ‘mental strength’ in the title race.

‘They are still four points clear, but there are still questions about the mental strength of the team,’ the France football icon added.

‘It’s not just that they lost the game, it’s the way they lost the game. (Bukayo) Saka and (Leandro) Trossard didn’t produce enough to worry United.

‘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.

‘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.’

Vieira’s criticism was put to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta after Manchester United made it two wins from two under caretaker manager Michael Carrick.

‘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,’ Arteta 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.’

Arsenal conclude their Champions League group campaign on Wednesday night before returning to Premier League action next weekend against Leeds United.

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