Italy's media claim £63m Arsenal star was their worst player vs Napoli

Arsenal produced a dominant performance against Napoli but could still only manage a 1-0 win.

The Premier League champions are hoping to go that one step further in the Champions League this season, and they have got off to a winning start.

Arsenal had 26 shots at goal against Napoli and registered an xG of 4.31, which is incredible at the highest level.

However, despite such dominance, their main attacker had no luck whatsoever.

Italian media rate Viktor Gyokeres as Arsenal’s worst player vs Napoli

Mikel Arteta finally handed Viktor Gyokeres his first start of the season against Napoli.

The Arsenal manager has made it clear with his actions that Kai Havertz is his first-choice centre-forward, and the German has justified that decision with his performances.

That has pushed Gyokeres down the pecking order, and he really needed a big performance to prove a point when he got a chance against Napoli.

The £63 million Swede was not awful by any means. He worked hard, made some good movement and even created four chances.

However, as a striker playing in a team that managed 26 shots, Gyokeres didn’t have a single one of them, which feels absurd.

That’s probably why the former Sporting CP man is the lowest-rated player on almost every Italian media outlet.

Calciomercato gave him a 5/10 rating and wrote: “Cancelled by the central defensive pairing of Rrahmani and Rafa Marin.”

Il Messaggero also gave him a 5/10 rating and said: “Suffered from Rrahmani’s marking and was never dangerous.”

Sport Mediaset rated him 5.5/10 and commented: “He struggles to find space within the Napoli defence’s tight lines, even when he tries to play unselfishly to help the team push up the pitch.”

Finally, Tutto Mercato Web gave him a 5.5/10 rating and said: “Pivot work, shrugs the door. Less mobile and consequently more easily markable than Havertz, he offers a fixed reference point to Rrahmani and Marin.”

No Arsenal player received a worse rating than Gyokeres from any of the above four Italian publications.

Arsenal need Viktor Gyokeres to deliver

As we said above, Gyokeres didn’t have his worst game, even though he looked anonymous at times.

However, the fact that the Swede didn’t find himself in a shooting position at any point during his time on the pitch is a concern.

Havertz is fit and firing right now, but the German cannot start every game – his injury issues over the last 18 months make that clear.

So, Arsenal need Gyokeres to step up and come up with the goods whenever he gets an opportunity in the famous red and white.

We really hope he can deliver.