Mikel Arteta’s defense of Viktor Gyökeres comes with a quiet catch

Despite watching Manchester City lose to Manchester United in the Premier League a bit before their game against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal were not able to take full advantage of the situation, drawing 0-0 at the City Ground.

It was a stalemate that had a lot of chances Arsenal's way, but they were not able to capitalise on them for one reason or another.

It was clear that even though Arsenal created more chances and had more of the ball than the home side, they were not clinical enough to worry the Reds in their own backyard.

There is not one single player who would be put to blame. It was a team effort, and many of these players were able to have shots on goal. None of them were able to score, and that is on the entire team, not just one individual.

That is what Mikel Arteta alluded to in the press conference when he was asked about Viktor Gyokeres' performance at The City Ground.

Obviously, Gyokeres was not at his best against Forest, and was not able to convert his chances, but Arteta, in a weird way, criticised him while also defending him.

He criticised the entire team, saying that they needed to be better as a team in front of goal, and refused to blame it on one player.

Mikel Arteta’s defense of Viktor Gyökeres comes with a quiet catch

Arteta said: "Obviously we want the players to be decisive at this level because we need them to score goals and create moments where we can unlock the door and get an opening which changes the game normally, and we haven't managed to take that and that's everybody's responsibility."

That right there is Arteta criticising not just Gyokeres, but the entire team for missing many key chances. The penalty decision aside, Arsenal did look like the more threatening team throughout the game, but it was obviously the problem of the entire team.

Having said that, Gyokeres was bought to put these chances away. He is doing the other things well. His hold-up play and physicality are coming in handy, but the main part of why Arsenal signed him is goalscoring, and fans have still yet to see that consistent version of the player that left Sporting in the summer.

Arteta clearly mentions how these players - Gyokeres, first and foremost - would have to score goals at this top level of football, but he also mentioned that it is the responsibility of the entire team.

That's the catch right there. Arteta defends him, but also criticises him indirectly, which is sometimes justified and necessary.