Alan Pardew suggests one player is a bit misunderstood after watching Arsenal beat Crystal Palace

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Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew revealed that he’s a big fan of one of Arsenal’s summer signings.

Pardew watched Arsenal beat Crystal Palace on matchday nine, where he came to one conclusion about one of Mikel Arteta’s players.

The most spoken-about transfer of Arsenal’s summer window was Viktor Gyokeres, who ended Arteta’s wait for a reliable number nine.

Gyokeres is growing into his role at the Emirates, but his output in front of goal could certainly improve; however, Pardew thinks he’s so much more than that.

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Alan Pardew says he’s a big fan of Viktor Gyokeres

Having not managed in the Premier League since 2018, Pardew watches the drama of the English top-flight unfold from afar.

After matchday nine’s action, Pardew featured on talkSPORT, where he was eager to draw attention to Gyokeres.

The former Newcastle United manager suggested that Gyokeres’ profile might be a little misunderstood at times.

“He’s not just that kind of, because he’s a big unit, he’s a strong unit, you can play into him, play off him, but he will go down the sides, he’ll run down the sides.

“I think the first game against Man United, he looked a bit one-paced, but I think that was probably nerves.”

Arteta is loving what he’s seeing from Gyokeres, and the same can be said for Pardew, who went on to admit that he is a ‘big fan’ of Arsenal’s Swedish striker.

“He’s starting to loosen up a little bit; he’s starting to look a bit quicker at the moment. I think he’s going to do great. I’m a big fan of his.”

Cogs are certainly turning for Gyokeres now that he’s more settled in his surroundings, but the 27-year-old’s Premier League goal tally needs work.

Gyokeres’ stats against Crystal Palace were awful

It’s now been five games since Gyokeres last scored in the Premier League, with the striker’s luck not improving against Palace.

Gyokeres’ statistics against Palace weren’t very graceful, as the forward was awarded a very poor 5.7 match rating by Sofascore. 

The eye test and the numbers didn’t match up, however, as what the Swede did so well was stretch Palace’s defence to allow his teammates to operate in more space.

Gyokeres, perhaps, isn’t getting as much credit as he deserves, but that doesn’t excuse that the goals really need to start flowing.