Gyokeres' Sweden teammate explains new 'chubby' nickname
Viktor Gyokeres has picked up a new nickname from his Sweden teammates, and he is not entirely thrilled about it. Teammate Eric Smith has started calling the Arsenal striker 'Bulten', which translates to 'The Bolt' in English, and the reasoning behind it has nothing to do with his pace.
Smith, a defender at FC St. Pauli in Germany, was asked on Wednesday who he thinks will win the Ballon d'Or next year. His answer caught those around him off guard.
The Friday Injury Tracker
Who's out, who's back and what it means for the next two games.
“Bulten,” Smith replied, before explaining himself further. “I call him Bulten. I think it fits well and it's starting to catch on with the others now.”
When pressed on where the nickname came from, Smith did not hold back. “He is chubby,” he said, adding that Gyokeres is less than impressed with the new moniker. “He doesn't like it.”
Sweden goalkeeper Viktor Johansson backed up the nickname when asked about it, finding the whole thing rather amusing. “It's very funny,” Johansson said. “That's what you think Bulten should look like.”
Gyokeres responds to the jibe
Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen put the nickname to Gyokeres directly, and he seemed happy enough to brush it off. “It's something crazy that they've come up with in recent days,” he said. “You'll have to check with him. I don't really know where he got it from. But he gets into things sometimes and you have to take it with a pinch of salt.”
The banter comes at an interesting time for the 28 year old, who has found life very different on club and international duty this season. At Arsenal, Gyokeres has struggled to get going, scoring just two goals in all competitions after netting 21 last term. He is yet to find the net in the Premier League and has started only six matches, totalling 614 minutes in all competitions so far.
A different story with Sweden
It is a stark contrast to his form in a Sweden shirt. Since June, Gyokeres has scored five goals and provided two assists in eight competitive games for his country, and he has found the net in all four of Sweden's Nations League group matches across September and October, a run that has stretched to seven consecutive scoring appearances in the competition.
Graham Potter's side face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday in a top of the table clash in Group B4, before rounding off the international break against Poland on November 17. Gyokeres will be hoping to carry that international scoring form back to north London once the break concludes.
