Mikel Arteta has been told he ‘cannot trust’ £64m striker Viktor Gyokeres after Arsenal’s crucial Premier League win over Chelsea.

Manchester City applied more pressure to the Gunners by beating Leeds United on Saturday but Arsenal restored their five-point lead in the title race with a 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea the next day.

Arteta’s side looked second-best in the second half after Chelsea equalised through a Piero Hincapie own goal and cancelled out William Saliba’s early opener.

But Arsenal’s prowess from set-plays once again came to the fore and Jurrien Timber scored a 65th-minute winner before Pedro Neto was sent off for Chelsea.

With Man City boasting a game in hand and Arsenal set to travel to the Etihad Stadium in a blockbuster clash next month, beating Chelsea was crucial to the Gunners’ hopes of winning the Premier League for the first time since 2004.

But Liverpool legend Steve Nicol believes Arteta will still have been ‘worried’ by aspects of Arsenal’s performance and particularly the lack of threat – set-pieces aside – in the final third.

Nicol says Arteta still ‘cannot trust’ Gyokeres despite his recent upturn in form and also criticised several other Arsenal attacking players, including Bukayo Saka.

‘In terms of the game, I didn’t think Chelsea turned up until the 45th minute,’ Nicol said on ESPN. ‘They didn’t contribute anything going forward in the first half other than the own goal.

‘The second half was completely different. Mikel Arteta would have expected Arsenal to start the second half like they started the match but they didn’t do it.

‘That would be the worrying thing for me, that Arsenal didn’t have an answer when it got a little bit pressurised. Even when Chelsea had ten men, Arsenal didn’t control the ball.

‘The midfield was poor, Declan Rice just ran out of steam, it was probably Martin Zubimendi’s worst game in an Arsenal jersey.

‘That would be the biggest concern for Mikel Arteta. They have to go to Man City but the other games are against teams outside the top-six which means they’ll probably be sitting in a tight defensive unit.

‘[Gabriel] Martinelli had one run against Chelsea, [Leandro] Trossard is not doing anything on that left-hand side, [Bukayo] Saka has pretty much disappeared recently and Gyokeres got a couple of goals the other week but you can’t trust him.

‘So how are you going to break down these sides? You’ve got an Arsenal side going forward who look as though they can’t break anyone down and Man City who look like they can and have so many options.

‘If you’re Mikel Arteta, you got the win but you must be a little bit worried.’

Gyokeres endured an underwhelming start to his Arsenal career but has scored eight goals in 13 appearances, including a brace in last weekend’s north London derby against Tottenham.

The £64m summer signing drew a blank on Sunday but Arsenal matchwinner Timber was keen to highlight Chelsea’s quality after the match.

‘It was tough,’ he said. ‘Chelsea are a great team they have amazing players so we’re really happy to come out with three points.

‘The first half going in at 1-1 was a bit of a shame. We didn’t give much away. We were quite dominant. You have to score more goals.

‘Both sides were really good, it was a nice game to watch for the fans and our crowd got us through it and the three points were very important.’

Arsenal continue their Premier League title charge on Wednesday night with a trip to Brighton, who have won their last two games.

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