Troy Deeney has questioned Mikel Arteta’s honesty about one of his players following Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Sunday

afternoon. The Gunners salvaged a point thanks to a late Gabriel Martinelli strike but will have been disappointed to slip five points behind current Premier League leaders Liverpool as a result.

Pep Guardiola’s side employed a smash-and-grab tactic at the Emirates Stadium, soaking up pressure before pouncing with a tigerish counterattack to snatch an early lead through Erling Haaland. With something to defend after just nine minutes, the Cityzens held firm with relative success – resorting at times to the very dark arts that Arteta’s side had become known for only last season.

Arsenal, still chasing their first league title in 22 years, had the highest net spend of any Premier League club in the summer, bringing in a new striker, winger, and attacking midfielder. Many expected them to cope better in these scenarios. Yet, despite recording twice as many shots as their guests and enjoying 36 percent more possession, they managed only three shots on target and a single goal.

Deeney Questions Mikel Arteta’s Honesty About Viktor Gyokeres



Deeney argued that one of the main reasons Arsenal struggled to find a way back into the game was the poor performance of Viktor Gyokeres. And the former Watford striker criticised Arteta for praising the forward’s display, telling talkSPORT (watch the full segment below):

“I understand the manager has to give the striker confidence, but he just described [Viktor] Gyokeres as ‘having a strong performance.’ You know when [Erik] ten Hag was at Man United, and he used to just lie to us that it was a good performance.

“We watched the game, we’ve seen it. As an ex-striker, I’m always going to look at the forwards. How are you going to say he had a strong performance?”

Gyokeres lasted the full 90 minutes but registered just 24 touches on the ball – fewer than any other outfield player on the pitch. He recorded zero shots, zero dribbles, and lost possession 13 times, with a passing accuracy of just 62 per cent. Another worrying sign is that he is yet to score against a side in the top half, with his three goals coming against newly promoted Leeds United and Ange Postecoglou’s struggling Nottingham Forest.

That didn’t stop Arteta from praising his new striker, even while admitting he was proud of the team’s overall performance. When quizzed on Gyokeres’ struggles in particular, the Spaniard told reporters: “Well, there were a lot of very good balls in the box, especially I remember three of them that he was very, very close to doing against City.

“To have very big open chances is extremely difficult, but he’s certainly trying his best and trying to do that, and we have to provide more for him, that’s it. There were a lot of situations where the chances were there and then the final pass was missing today. In many moments it was very, very open.”

Arsenal’s lingering mentality issues will no doubt be used by rivals as a stick to beat them with once again. The general consensus among the Gunners was that a point was a good result, with Declan Rice even suggesting it was the most dominant he’s seen his side against Manchester City – evidence that Arsenal may once more be settling for what they can get rather than breaking through the glass ceiling.

That perception wasn’t helped by Martinelli and his teammates spending more than a minute celebrating the equaliser, instead of quickly restarting play to chase a winner – something Liverpool have been doing in recent weeks to power their perfect start of six wins from six across all competitions.

Footba