Andy Cole has praised Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres for an attribute that he brings to Mikel Arteta’s team.
Gyokeres ended his goal drought with a brace against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night at the Emirates, finding himself in the right place at the right time to finish off two Gunners moves.
The number nine has struggled at times for the North Londoners, finding it difficult to adapt to the pace and intensity of the Premier League.
However, despite his lack of output, the Swede is starting to be given his flowers for some of the hard work he puts in throughout matches.
Andy Cole defends Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres
Arsenal spent £63 million on Gyokeres in the summer.
For this fee, Gunners supporters expect an impressive goal return from the outset, and it’s certainly reasonable to hold this expectation.
Thus, it may frustrate some fans that the player is starting to be praised for the facets of the game he is contributing that don’t include putting the ball in the back of the net.
Nevertheless, Gyokeres’ tireless running is making Arsenal a better team, and Arteta isn’t the only person who has now noted this.
Speaking on Match of the Day, when asked about comparisons between Gyokeres and Erling Haaland, former Manchester United striker Andy Cole claimed that strikers ‘nowadays’ aren’t prepared to run into the channels in the way the Gunners man does.
“Totally different [to Haaland],” Cole said.
“If you look at him, he’s more of an individual who looks to get involved in the play, link the play, bring his teammates in. He’s prepared to run in the wide areas that you don’t really see nowadays, you don’t see centre-forwards make runs into wide areas.”
Viktor Gyokeres needs to be rested at some point over the next few weeks
Before the international break, Gyokeres played three sets of 90 minutes in the space of six days, against Newcastle, Olympiacos and West Ham.
He then played two full 90s for Sweden, an entire game against Fulham and then 83 minutes against Atletico Madrid.
While his ability to keep running for long periods is one of his unique selling points, he also needs to be carefully managed to ensure he doesn’t burn out.
Kai Havertz isn’t expected to return until after the November international break, meaning Gyokeres will likely have to start every game between now and then.
That said, he shouldn’t feature at all against Brighton in the League Cup next week, and should be withdrawn as early as possible in any game in which Arsenal have a commanding lead.
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