Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus are fighting for the same spot at Arsenal.
The Swede only joined the club in the summer, and he was viewed as the answer to the Gunners’ goalscoring woes up top.
Jesus, on the other hand, has been around for over three years, and he has had plenty of injuries during his time at the Emirates Stadium.
Both players are fit now, and after watching them play against Aston Villa in Arsenal’s 4-1 win, Mikel Arteta has had his say.
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Mikel Arteta delivers verdict on Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz after Arsenal beat Aston Villa
Viktor Gyokeres started the game against Aston Villa.
The former Sporting CP man actually looked a lot better on Tuesday night. He has been accused of poor movement over the last few games, but there was a big improvement against Unai Emery’s side.
Gyokeres got on the end of two headers, the second of which was down to his brilliant movement. He missed both opportunities, but the fact that he got on the end of them shows real promise.
That may have caught Arteta’s eye as well, because after the game, the Arsenal manager mentioned Gyokeres even though he wasn’t asked about him.
When the interviewer on BBC Sport asked Arteta about Gabriel Jesus’ performance, the Spaniard made sure to praise Gyokeres as well.
Answer the question about Jesus first, Arteta said: “Great. He looked sharp. Very ambitious.
“I think Viktor did really, really well as well in the front line, but Gabi took his chance so well, so another one on board.”
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The Brazilian should start ahead of Merino, Havertz and Gyokeres! 👀
Viktor Gyokeres looked good but he could be in trouble
A goal against Villa would’ve made a huge difference to Gyokeres’ confidence, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Yes, the Swede looked a lot better than he has done since his return from injury, but the player who replaced him, Jesus, scored a screamer after coming on.
To make things worse for Gyokeres, Kai Havertz was back in the squad as well, and he will surely be pushing for minutes in the coming games.
It is clear that Gyokeres’ place in the starting line-up is under threat now, and if he doesn’t start scoring soon, he may have to settle for a spot on the bench more often than not in the second half of the season.
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