News

Ian Wright says if he’d start ahead of Viktor Gyokeres for Arsenal if he were in his prime right now

Add as preferred source on Google

Ian Wright has been reflecting on his prime years by playing a game that tested the Arsenal legend on whether he’d start for a variety of current clubs.

Wright has already said that he’d struggle playing under Mikel Arteta because of the strict structure players are required to adhere to in today’s game.

That being said, being the second best goalscorer in Arsenal’s history, Wright certainly fancies his chances of representing some of the best clubs today.

In an interview with ESPN UK, the Arsenal legend was asked to answer yes or no about whether, in his prime, he’d start for a variation of top European clubs.

Arsenal v West Ham
Photo by Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images

Ian Wright says he’d start ahead of Viktor Gyokeres at Arsenal in his prime

In his prime, there was no stopping Wright, who racked up 185 goals over the years at Arsenal.

His former club came up first during the TikTok for ESPN, where he confidently stated that if he were at his best, he would start ahead of Viktor Gyokeres as the Gunners’ striker.

@espnuk

Would a prime Ian Wright start for these current clubs? 👀 #Arsenal #Liverpool #RealMadrid #ManchesterUnited #Barcelona

♬ original sound – ESPN UK

Wright simply said ‘yes’ when Arsenal were mentioned, and interestingly, his answer was the same for every top Premier League club, bar one.

The former striker believes he’d miss out on starting at Manchester City due to Erling Haaland, who is in remarkable form right now.

Other than Man City, there were only two clubs that the Arsenal icon didn’t back himself to start for, those being Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

By Wright’s own admission, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Haaland are at a higher level than he was in his prime, but not Gyokeres, nor Liverpool’s Alexander Isak.

Viktor Gyokeres’ first ten league games for Arsenal compared to Ian Wright’s

Gyokeres has actually been the topic of discussion among former players recently.

Rio Ferdinand thinks he could defend against Gyokeres, and Wright thinks he’d replace the Swede, but just how far off is the summer signing from where the Arsenal legend was when he first signed?

Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Photo by Stuart Atkins/Offside via Getty Images

A very long way, is the answer.

Wright took no time at all to impress at Arsenal, scoring a hat-trick on his league debut, which led him to score 11 goals in his opening ten league appearances for the Gunners in 1991.

After the ten-game mark in the 2025/26 Premier League season, Gyokeres is only on four goals, which explains why Wright was so confident that he’d start over the Swede. 

Gyokeres is no match for what Wright was, but can the £63m man better the legend’s 26-goal first season in all competitions?