Arsenal striker Viktor Djoekereš has scored his first goal of the season, securing a win for Sweden with a 2-1 victory over Romania.
Djoekereš and teammate Alexander Isak were instrumental in leading the Swedes to victory, with this goal marking his first in competitive matches since scoring against Tunisia at the World Cup.
He's faced a challenging start to the season at club level, with Mikel Arteta starting Kai Havertz ahead of him in all of the first five Premier League matches — a decision that has seen Havertz net two goals. Djoekereš has mainly featured as a substitute.
Following Sweden's match against Romania, Djoekereš reflected on his goal:
Lukas Bergvall struck the ball well, and I was in a good position at the far post. The ball came to me, and I slotted it home. It felt great to score. I’m pleased that I played; it was fun on the pitch.
The forward acknowledged the criticism he has faced but is keen to avoid letting it affect him:
If there’s a lot of criticism and you read it constantly, it can influence you. But I don’t get involved with that.
When you play well, you get praise. If you’re a striker and you’re not scoring or playing up to expectations, you’re going to be criticised. That happens to every player. Good and bad periods come and go — that’s normal.
He also candidly accepted the need for improvement:
Of course, I need to play better, and I want that for myself. There’s no problem with that. I always have a good dialogue with Arteta. I just try to play well whenever I get a chance and score goals.
With an international break upon us, Djoekereš may find more opportunities for game time. Havertz sustained a hamstring injury while on international duty with Germany, potentially paving the way for the Swede to fill in at Arsenal's centre-forward position.
Before returning to his club, Djoekereš will feature in two more matches for Sweden against Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
