Gyokeres nets twice as Arsenal rout Leeds, Spurs stun Man.City

Viktor Gyokeres scored his first two Arsenal goals as the Gunners gave Leeds a harsh lesson in the step up to the Premier League with a 5-0 win at the Emirates.

Victory came at a cost for Mikel Arteta as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard hobbled off injured just eight days before Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool.

Arsenal edged ahead of north London rivals Tottenham at the top of the table on goal difference, as the only two sides so far with a 100 percent record from their opening two games.

Saka fired in a blistering strike from a narrow angle to double the home side’s lead after Jurrien Timber opened the scoring.

Gyokeres was signed from Sporting Lisbon as the solution to Arsenal’s need for a killer number nine.

The Swede’s ability to succeed in the Premier League has been questioned despite his prolific record of 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting.

Gyokeres made his mark with a fine individual run and finish before Timber bundled in his second from another Declan Rice corner.

Gyokeres rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot with virtually the last kick of the game.

A day of celebration for the home fans began before kick-off when new £60 million ($81 million) signing Eberechi Ezi was paraded after he turned down a move to Tottenham.

But the sight of captain Odegaard and talisman Saka leaving the field soured a routine win.

Arsenal had to rely on their threat from set-pieces to grind out a 1-0 win at Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season.

Despite a dominant start to the game, that was how the the Leeds defence was prized open.

Timber had scored just twice in 52 Arsenal appearances before Saturday. The Dutch international doubled that tally as he firstly got his head to Rice’s inviting delivery on 34 minutes.

Odegaard then made his departure after appearing to injure his shoulder falling heavily to the turf.

Saka soon had the Emirates crowd back on their feet when he drilled Timber’s pass high past Lucas Perri with his supposedly weaker right foot.

Gyokeres had at one point been a target for Leeds during his days with Coventry in the Championship before making the move to Portugal.

Arsenal’s new £66 million signing showed the Yorkshire side what they missed as he scampered onto Riccardo Calafiori’s ball over the top and cut inside before firing in at the near post.

Saka missed nearly four months of last season with a hamstring injury.

Arsenal added a fouth when Leeds failed to clear another Rice corner and Timber forced the ball over the line from close range.

Arteta could then afford the luxury of handing a Premier League debut to 15-year-old Max Dowman.

He became the second youngest ever player to play in the English top-flight after team-mate Ethan Nwaneri. Dowman’s trickery won a penalty deep into stoppage time that Gyokeres gratefully dispatched. Earlier, a new-look Manchester City showed familiar frailties as Tottenham strolled to a 2-0 win at the Etihad, while Aston Villa slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Brentford.

Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha struck for the Europa League winners just before half-time, making it a perfect start for Thomas Frank after two league games in charge.

City’s run of four consecutive Premier League titles came to a spectacular end last season as they finished a distant third behind Liverpool and Arsenal.

A 4-0 thrashing of Wolves on the opening weekend of the campaign showed glimpses of a revamped City back to their best.

However, they were again easily exposed on the counter-attack, while manager Pep Guardiola must decide who will be his number one goalkeeper after a day to forget for James Trafford.

Tottenham took the lead on 35 minutes when Richarlisonsquared for Brennan Johnson to power past Trafford.

Trafford was fortunate to avoid being punished after rushing outside his box to block from Kudus with his arm.

But moments later the England goalkeeper had a moment of madness when he attempted a pass to Nico Gonzalez inside his own box.

Pape Mate Sarr intercepted and, even though the goalkeeper recovered to deny Richarlison, Joao Palhinha smashed home the rebound.

Villa have failed to score in their opening two games and Brentford secured a big win for new boss Keith Andrews thanks to record signing Dango Ouattara.

The Bees lost not only Frank, but their top scorer last season Bryan Mbeumo and captain Christian Norgaard in the close season, while Yoane Wissa has sat out Andrews’ first two games in an attempt to force through a move to Newcastle.

Agence France-Presse