Mikel Arteta defends Viktor Gyokeres with brutal message to Arsenal teammates

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Mikel Arteta has defended Viktor Gyokeres ' performance against Wolves and instead partly blamed his struggles on other Arsenal stars. The Gunners secured a 2-1 victory on Saturday evening, with all three goals arriving in the final 20 minutes and the decisive strike coming deep into stoppage time.

A fortunate own goal by Sam Johnstone from a Bukayo Saka corner gave Arsenal the lead before Tolu Arokodare levelled in the dying moments of normal time. Nevertheless, Yerson Mosquera accidentally nodded into his own net in the fourth minute of injury time to secure Arsenal the three points.

Facing the Premier League's basement club, Arsenal were far from hitting peak performance, with Arteta acknowledging this and explaining why they may have encountered difficulties.

He said: "We knew it was going be a tough match, especially if we didn't manage to score early in the game. We had a lot of situations in the first half, one massive big chance for Martinelli, two yards out, totally free and we don't score.

"But we struggled once we arrived into those danger zones to pick a red shirt in the box. We had many situations and then we didn't generate many clear chances.

"In the second half, we did that a bit better, we scored the goal. But then we had periods of three minutes in deep, so passive, really poor defensive habits. Not acceptable for our level because we haven't conceded a single shot until that point. The first time they do it, they score a goal. That's the Premier League .

"We are very much aware of that and have to improve that because at the very end we rely on one individual action, a very chaotic action to score the goal and win the game, and the margin should have been bigger."

Wolves effectively utilised a defensive low block at Emirates Stadium, which left Gyokeres with minimal involvement.

He managed just 15 touches during his 81 minutes on the pitch, but Arteta chose to suggest teammates could do more to support him.

Regarding Gyokeres needing to contribute more whilst also requiring service, Arteta said: "It's a collaboration between the two. He was in a lot of really good positions and the ball didn't get into the area quick enough, sharp enough or just with the precision that is required for a No.9 to score the goal.

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"But his work rate and intentions were there and we need to keep insisting."

The sole significant setback from the encounter was Ben White's hamstring injury, with Arteta providing an update following the match.

He confessed: "Looks like a hamstring, so we don't know the extent of that, but probably tomorrow or the day after we'll know more."

Injuries have ravaged Arsenal's 2025/26 campaign with Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice , Leandro Trossard and William Saliba all question marks going into the weekend.

Arteta even admitted it was a gamble to field the latter after he had been sidelined for the past few weeks.