“Arsenal will win Premier League but only if Arteta stop playing him a permanent starter…He’s the only bad egg in their entire squad”: Thierry Henry advices Mikel Arteta to stop playing £86m star who joined the Gunners last summer
Former defender turned pundit Joleon Lescott has claimed that Arsenal won’t be able to win the Premier League title with Viktor Gyokeres as the primary striker.
After struggling with centre-forward problems over the last couple of years, the Gunners decided to address this issue by signing the Swedish international from Sporting CP this summer.
The 27-year-old was one of the most prolific goal-scorers in Europe over the last two seasons, so it didn’t come as a surprise that the North London club decided to buy him.
Manchester United were reportedly keen on purchasing him as well. Initially, it was thought that they had an advantage in this deal due to the Ruben Amorim factor, as under his guidance, the striker flourished in his career at Jose Alvalade Stadium.
However, Gyokeres opted to move to the Emirates Stadium, rejecting the Red Devils. But he has had a tepid start to his life in the Premier League, scoring three goals in 10 appearances across all competitions.
Now, during a recent interview (via Metro), Lescott claims that Gyokeres isn’t a world-class forward and is ‘okay’ at best, but winning the Premier League with an average striker is difficult.
Pundit slams Gyokeres
So, Mikel Arteta won’t be able to win the title with Arsenal this season. However, the pundit says that the North London club might be able to win the Champions League trophy as they have proper squad depth for that.
Lescott said:
“I would describe Victor Gyokeres as ‘okay’. If you’re going to win the league, your striker can’t be okay, he has to be top. ‘I don’t think Mikel Arteta can get Arsenal over the line in the Premier League. But in the Champions League, it’s different.
“With the way he rotates and because of that big gap [before the knockout stages], no one knows what kind of form or fitness teams will be in. That suits Arsenal better than having to be consistently good every single week to win the league.”
Gyokeres is an experienced striker, and perhaps everyone expected that he would be able to hit the ground running straightaway. However, it is expected that when any striker comes from abroad, he would take time to settle into the physicality of the Premier League.
Moreover, he had been striking and didn’t take part in pre-season this summer to force a move to the Emirates Stadium. So, he has been a bit behind from a fitness perspective. Nevertheless, he should showcase his best in the second half of this season.
