Alan Shearer shares what Mikel Arteta must do to get the best out of Viktor Gyokeres at Arsenal

Alan Shearer has outlined what Arsenal must do to get the best out of Viktor Gyokeres. The 27-year-old striker fired the Gunners to a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, scoring his third goal of the Premier League season.

Shortly after the break, Gyokeres, whom Arsenal signed from Sporting Clube de Portugal for £64m in the summer, doubled the north London outfit's lead. The Sweden international tapped the ball in from close range after latching onto a pass from Eberechi Eze.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer noticed something that Mikel Arteta's side should be doing more. The Newcastle United legend said: "I think the key to getting the best out of Gyokeres is early balls into the box.

"It’s a really fine balance because you’ve got Eze and you’ve got [Noni] Madueke, whose game and big strength is going past players and being brilliant at doing that. But, I also think sometimes you don’t have to do it."

Shearer added: "The early ball kills defenders as well, and I think sometimes that’s the brightest thing to do, rather than beat and check and do all that. So, there’s a fine balance, but I do think to get the best out of Gyokeres, they need early balls into the box.

"You saw that straight after half time again: ball in behind and first time into the box, Eze, one touch finish for Gyokeres, and I think that’s what he’s going to thrive on. They looked really good yesterday, Arsenal. I thought it was an impressive performance."

Speaking to reporters after the Forest game, Gyokeres lifted the lid on his start to life at Arsenal. The Swede said: "It’s been very easy to fit into the team. "Of course, it takes some time to adapt to the style of play, but it’s been a good start.

"Playing with people like this is amazing – they always want to go forward and be a threat. You just have to be in the right positions and you’ll get chances."

On whether the Premier League has been what he expected, Gyokeres said: "It’s a difficult question. I didn’t expect too much. I knew it was going to be a very, very high level and you have to be ready for it.

"So far it’s been okay. I always try my best. There are a lot of teams with great players attacking, but we definitely have amazing players going forward."

Gyokeres added: "It’s been a lot of them in a short period. But we have to handle that, make sure we’re prepared and do our best. Of course it’s a big club and there’s going to be pressure.

"But you just try to make the best when you’re out on the pitch and not think too much about it."

When asked if more is to come, the Arsenal striker replied: "Yeah, for sure. You always want minutes, and you get into it easier when you play more. You want to perform and show that you deserve to be on the pitch. That’s what I’m trying to do."

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