Welcome to The DeBrief, a Sky Sports column in which Adam Bate uses a mix of data and opinion to think about some of the most important stories from the latest Premier League matches. This week:
Gyokees changes Arsenal -Dealing
The whisper about Viktor Gyokees had already started by the time he cut in to score for Arsenal during his Premier League home debut. An hour in Manchester United followed by 45 minutes without a goal against Leeds was enough to build pressure.
But after adding a stop-time penalty, the record reads two goals from two games. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had called it. “I think we will be extremely happy if he starts stopping the ball very, very often in the back of the net, which is his greatest skill.”
Everyone had claimed that Arsenal needed a natural goal scorer. Finding a way to take him without losing what makes the side of Arteta so good would always be the challenge. Even at this early stage of the season there are signs that it can be a delicate balance.
Gyokees is different from the other options of Arsenal. The statistics clearly emphasize that. The Sweden International has made 27 points that the Backline is challenging this Premier League season so far – the most by every player in the competition. One brought his first goal.
Riccardo Calafiori's first pass behind the high line of defense of Leeds gave Gyokeres something to chase. “It's almost his characteristic movement,” said Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports. “He wants to run the other way.” But Arsenal players are not used to looking for this movement.
Although Gabriel Martinelli runs from the inside, it is more common for Kai Havertz to get to the ball. Arsenal has to get used to looking for that pass. “I think we should also make an attempt to try to understand him, to connect,” Arteta admitted.
The statistics also show that the majority of those Gyokees runs did not lead to a pass that was sent his way. And even when the striker has received the ball, he is one of the most isolated players in the Premier League to date. That connection must improve.
Arteta seems aware of the problem and it would be expected that his new teammates will appear on time. “We also did a lot of work this week in relation to that. I am sure he is doing well. He is a very smart, intuitive player.”
Maybe a bit “filthy” – as Gary Neville brought it to CO comment for Sky Sports. But Arsenal has enough class and cute elsewhere in their team. Now they have both the hammer and the scalpel, the cutting by teams must be easier.
Garner is Everton's real hero
One of the classical lines of football came thanks to Hector Enrique, the midfielder of Argentina who stuck the ball in the direction of Diego Maradona prior to his 'Purpose of the Century' against England at the 1986 World Cup. “With such a pass, how could he miss?”
James Garner's strike against Brighton was not exactly Maradona dancing by the opposition from his own half, but unlike Enrique, much of the honor went to Jack Grealisk for this purpose because he rolled the ball on his path. Let's also give Garner his flowers.
It was not only that his great strike sealed the 2-0 win for Everton in the first Premier League match in the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Garner's goal came in a match in which he filled on the left, given the discouraging task of marking Yankuba MINTEH.
If you place that matter afterwards to Moyes, he replied: “The biggest is probably the largest for me today when we have received a half -failed team in some ways. We have missed players who would be in it. We have to play players from position.”
He added: “We probably have it since the end of last season, the entire summer and we are still now. So the performance of Jimmy Garner was fantastic because I thought he also played well on Monday evening. I thought it was great work.”
Garner tied to his task and also gave Grealisk a lot of support. No Everton player had more accents than he, the ball fed on the winger of England and often simple steps to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall play in what looks like a promising combination.
Without Vitalii Mykolenko, Nathan Patterson and Jarrad Branthwaite, Moyes had to turn to a different role. His natural position is in midfield but must. “His versatility is so important to us,” said Moyes.
“He has the opportunity to score, he has always had a good cause. It is good because he is really a midfield player, so to get his first goal on the board is great. We want our midfield players to start getting many more goals.” Even from the left.
Truffert excels for Bournemouth
Speaking of left backs, Bournemouth found another after the sale of Milos Kerkez to Liverpool. Adrien Truffert, the 23-year-old French international, signed from Rennes, still delivered a strong performance on his home debut against Wolves.
Neville had already chosen Truffert as his time to watch this season on Monday evening football after an adventurous display against Liverpool – in a match where Kerkez was addicted by his new club. He also looked a threat in the victory over Wolves.
Truffert has already made 17 overlapping runs this season, six more than any other player in the Premier League. It is remarkable that he has also made the second most falling runs. When Bournemouth gets the ball out of hand, he goes. The ideal replacement.