Gyokeres scores twice as Arsenal crush Leeds

Viktor Gyokeres scored his first Arsenal goals as the Gunners put five past Leeds after unveiling new £60m signing Eberechi Eze before kick-off.

It was a jubilant atmosphere in north London as Eze was introduced to the crowd before the game and the energetic crowd seemed to give the team a lift.

Jurrien Timber scored the opening goal, heading in a trademark set piece before providing an assist for Bukayo Saka for Arsenal's second.

Saka smashed a shot past Lucas Perri just before half-time but then the England winger was forced to limp off injured in the second half.

Striker Gyokeres, a £64m signing, jinked into the box to score Arsenal's third with a low strike before Timber scored his second from another corner.

Mikel Arteta also handed a Premier League debut to 15-year-old Max Dowman, who replaced Noni Madueke, who had been making his first start for the Gunners.

Dowman had an immediate impact, winning a penalty after being brought down by Anton Stach and Gyokeres slammed the ball into the bottom corner with almost the last kick of the game.

Dowman became the second youngest player to play for the club at 15 years and 234 days old, only behind his team-mate Ethan Nwaneri who made his debut at 15 years 181 days in September 2022 against Brentford.

Arteta will be concerned though by the injury to Saka, while he was also forced to replace Martin Odegaard in the first half after his captain limped off with an injury on his 200th appearance for the Gunners.

Leeds were outclassed for most of the match and only really threatened the Arsenal goal once when Pascal Struijk had a header saved by Raya.

Arsenal analysis: A near perfect day but injuries a worry for Arteta

It was nearly a perfect afternoon for Arsenal with a new signing unveiled, Gyokeres getting off the mark and a debut given to the highly rated Dowman.

Injuries derailed Arsenal's title bid last season and with Kai Havertz unavailable with a knee injury and now question marks over the fitness of Odegaard and Saka, Arteta will be hoping he won't have to contend with the same issues this season.

Arsenal came into this transfer window with the aim of increasing the depth and quality of the squad and Arteta will now have to use the £250m of resources that he has brought in during this summer window to bring silverware to the club.

When Eze entered the pitch wearing his new number 10 shirt the noise inside the stadium was nearly as loud as the celebrations that followed each of the five goals that the Gunners scored. Eze's quality is going to bring a different dynamic to the Arsenal attack.

Dowman has been one of Arsenal's brightest sparks throughout pre-season and had already won two penalties against Newcastle and Villarreal.

He again showed why there is so much excitement about his potential when he came on against Leeds and the winger's ability to beat his defender was shown again when he won a penalty for Arsenal's fifth goal.

Arsenal are cautious about putting too much pressure on the 15-year-old but when he continues to impress at senior level, they will find it hard to stop the hype around him.

Analysis: Leeds well beaten but defeat won't define season

Leeds started their season with a win over Everton and that three points gave their supporters some hope coming to Arsenal.

However, Leeds had lost 10 of their past 12 Premier League away games against the Gunners and they never looked like improving that record in this match.

Arsenal are a completely different prospect from the Everton side they beat last Monday and apart from the header from Struijk, Daniel Farke's side did not threaten the Gunners.

Leeds were able to give a debut to new £18m striker Noah Okafor and, along with Lukas Nmecha, they will hope that he can get the goals they need to break the trend of the newly promoted sides going straight back down to the Championship.

Their task does not get any easier as they take on Newcastle next and they will have to show more resilience in that match to avoid the chance of a repeat result.