Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney sends warning to Viktor Gyokeres after Arsenal debut

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has issued a warning to Viktor Gyokeres after his subdued Arsenal debut.

Gyokeres struggled to make an impact in Arsenal’s Premier League opener at Old Trafford on Sunday and was replaced in the second half by Kai Havertz.

Much is expected of Arsenal’s £64m summer signing following his sensational form for Portuguese giants Sporting.

Gyokeres, who was playing in the Championship with Coventry City three seasons ago, scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting, helping them win back-to-back league titles.

The Sweden international was brought in to solve Arsenal’s goalscoring issues and take the Gunners to the next level after three successive second-place finishes.

Some pundits expressed concern over Gyokeres’ performance against Manchester United but Rooney says he ‘didn’t get much support’ and insists ‘you don’t become a bad player after one game’.

However, the England legend also warned Gyokeres he is playing in a ‘completely different league’ and faces ‘a lot more pressure’ than he may be used to.

‘To be fair to him he didn’t have much support at times,’ Rooney said on his BBC podcast when asked about Gyokeres’ Arsenal debut.

‘He was a bit isolated, he did show his strength, there was one time he ran into the channel and pushed [Matthijs] De Ligt off the ball.

‘You don’t become a bad player after one game. I actually played against him a couple of years ago when he was at Coventry and back then you could tell he was a good player.

‘The one thing I would say is this league is completely different to where he’s been and there’s a lot more pressure.

‘Arsenal have been in need of a striker and he’s the one they’ve put the trust in and spent the money on so there is a lot of pressure on him.

‘Now, the question I would have is can he handle that pressure? We’ve seen at Man United some players just can’t do it, just can’t handle the pressure of playing for a big club.

‘I guess we’re going to find out over the next few months.’

Rooney also assessed Arsenal’s Premier League title chances after they began the season with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

As well as Gyokeres, Mikel Arteta has welcomed Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke and Christian Norgaard to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

‘I think they can,’ Rooney said when asked if he believes Arsenal can win the title ahead of the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City Chelsea. ‘It will be tough but they can.

‘You can’t judge them on that performance because I know what it’s like at the start of the season, it can be tough for players.

‘Arsenal are certainly one of the three or four teams that can win it, that’s for sure.’

The Gunners will attempt to make it two wins from two on Saturday when Premier League new-boys Leeds United visit the Emirates Stadium.

Leeds marked their return to the top-flight with a 1-0 win over Everton on Monday night.

Six other teams won their opening games of the season as well as Arsenal, including defending champions Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Liverpool scored two late goals to beat Bournemouth 4-2 while Man City looked formidably strong in a 4-0 thrashing over Wolves.

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