LONDON: Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres netted his first two Premier League goals and defender Jurrien Timber scored twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
However, the loss of captain Martin Odegaard and winger Bukayo Saka to injury took some of the shine off Arsenal’s second win of the new season.
After beating Everton 1-0 in their opener a week ago, Leeds started brightly but began to crumble when Timber gave Arsenal the lead in the 34th minute with a superb glancing header from Declan Rice’s corner.
He then played in Saka for the England international to score in first-half stoppage time to send the home side into the break 2-0 up.
By then Odegaard had trudged off the field after picking up an injury, but the midfielder was barely missed as his side hit their stride and their new big-money striker took centre-stage.
Having joined Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon in July for an initial 55 million pounds ($74 million) according to British media, Sweden international Gyokeres got the goal he so desperately desired with a cool finish three minutes after the break.
He picked the ball up on the left and cut inside before firing a low shot in at the near post.
The 53rd minute loss of Saka, who had taken the captain’s armband from Odegaard, was quickly forgotten as Timber added the fourth goal, scuffing the ball home after Leeds failed to clear another corner.
The Yorkshire side battled bravely but came up short in almost every department as Arsenal easily played through their attempts to press.
With the points all but wrapped up, 15-year-old Max Dowman was handed a debut by Mikel Arteta: the second youngest in Premier League history after Ethan Nwaneri, also with Arsenal.
Dowman repaid his manager’s faith by winning a penalty that Gyokeres fired home to make it 5-0.
An early snatched finish in the first half hinted at the pressure Gyokeres was feeling, but once he got his goal in the second half he settled down and began looking like a proven Premier League goal-poacher.
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“I think there’s always pressure, but I know I’ll take my chances sooner or later, and today I took two of them and we won 5-0, so it was a great day,” the 27-year-old said before sending a warning to the rest of the league.
“We have so many amazing players going forward, and I think for me, it’s just important to be in the right place … I think we will get a lot of chances during the season.”