Viktor Gyokeres breaks Arsenal rule that would have left Arsene Wenger furious

Viktor Gyokeres might feel slightly fortunate that he’s got Mikel Arteta as his manager after he broke a long-standing club rule at the weekend. The Swedish striker saw his Gunners goal drought extend to his sixth game after failing to find the net against West Ham.

And while he might be mulling over another game where he failed to find the back of the net, it appears that he thought his kit might have given him a solution. During the first-half of Saturday’s clash with the Hammers, Gyokeres emerged from the dressing room donning a long-sleeved shirt.

And he made a quick change at half-time, instead switching to a short-sleeved shirt. Gyokeres wasn’t the only one to initially opt for long sleeves, with fellow summer arrival Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly also selecting the warmer option.

And while there seems to be freedom for current stars to pick which shirts they wear, it wasn’t always that way. Under legendary boss Arsene Wenger, the squad stuck by the tradition that whichever sleeve length was picked by the captain, every other player would follow suit.

The tradition was so well followed that it even triggered a row between Wenger and former midfielder Mathieu Flamini back in 2015. The Frenchman regularly cut his sleeves had long sleeves been selected.

"I do not like that and he will not do that again," Wenger said at the time. "I was surprised he did that; we don't want that."

And when the question was put to Flamini, he vowed not to stop his shirt hijinks. He said: "I've been playing at the top level for 10 years. I like to wear short sleeves, that's what I like to do."

There is no suggestion that Arteta is as much of a stickler for the tradition as Wenger was. In fact, Gyokeres is far from the first to opt for a change under his watch - Kai Havertz also did the same earlier this season.

Regardless, Arteta will likely only be keen for Gyokeres to finally get the goals that his workrate has deserved so far. Speaking after the win vs West Ham, the Arsenal boss said: “I just went there and hugged him and said thank you because the work that he does is unbelievable for the team.

“The way he stretches the back four and the spaces he opens. I mean today how he hasn’t scored a goal, I don’t know!”

Gyokeres and his Arsenal teammates will now head off on international duty before resuming their Premier League commitments in a fortnight’s time against Fulham.

Gyokeres' Sweden take on Switzerland and Kosovo over the international break as they attempt to book a spot at next summer's World Cup.

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