Gabby Agbonlahor says ‘brilliant’ Arsenal star isn’t quick enough for the Premier League

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Gabby Agbonlahor has highlighted one Arsenal star who he doesn’t believe is currently quick enough for the Premier League.

The Gunners have assembled an exceptional squad in recent years, bolstered significantly by the arrival of eight players this summer.

Andrea Berta opted to spend over £250 million to improve the depth of Mikel Arteta’s ensemble, which now looks primed to compete on multiple fronts.

The Spaniard has prioritised signing athletic and physically robust players, most of whom have sufficient pace to play at any level.

However, Agbonlahor doesn’t believe this to be the case for one specific individual at the Emirates.

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Gabby Agbonlahor says Viktor Gyokeres ‘lacks a yard’

Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres for £63 million this summer.

The Swede has gotten off to a difficult start in North London, despite scoring twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Leeds in August.

Peripheral against Manchester United and Liverpool, the striker struggled to get involved and seemed to struggle to physically impose himself against Premier League defenders.

That said, one thing that has never been questioned is his pace, showcasing his ability to burst away from centre-backs consistently in the Primeira Liga.

Gabby Agbonlahor hasn’t seen this attribute on display so far for Arsenal, claiming Gyokeres has looked like he ‘lacks a yard’ in the English game.

“Manchester United away, Liverpool away, he didn’t look like he could get into those channels,” Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT.

“He lacks a yard, doesn’t he? He does lack a yard. [Benjamin] Sesko and Gyokeres might need five or six games to get up to speed.”

Viktor Gyokeres could change his body composition to get quicker

Fast in the Portuguese league, the ‘brilliant’ Gyokeres hasn’t necessarily shown his pace as of yet in the Premier League.

Part of this is Arsenal’s inability to find him in positions where he can utilise his speed, and part of it is likely that he’s simply playing against quicker players than he’s used to.

Gyokeres hasn’t dominated centre-backs physically, and it doesn’t look like this is the strongest aspect of his game.

Instead, he should looked to lean on his pace and should perhaps somewhat change his body composition.

If he’s not going to be a physically dominant striker who bullies defenders, then he should look to lose some of his bulkiness and try to become more lean, which could make him quicker.

Already possessing good acceleration, becoming half a yard quicker could make the difference for him and make him one of the more frightening strikers to face in the Premier League.