Joe Cole has suggested that Arsenal have made a better signing than Manchester United’s acquisition of Bryan Mbeumo.
Arsenal and Manchester United have both made some big signings over the past few months as they look to build on their 2024/25 campaigns.
The Gunners will be eager to get their hands on the Premier League title, while the Red Devils will merely want to improve on a horrid campaign last term.
While Bryan Mbeumo’s move to Man United was seen as a bit of a coup for the Red Devils, Joe Cole is of the opinion that Arsenal have made a better acquisition.
Joe Cole rates Viktor Gyokeres more highly than Bryan Mbeumo
Cole was among the TNT Sports pundits who gave their thoughts on some of the biggest Premier League deals of the summer.
When it came to Mbeumo, Cole gave the former Brentford man a 7 out of 10 and said: “I think that’s a good signing, but I’ll give it a 7.”
Meanwhile, Peter Crouch went with 8 out of 10, while Darren Fletcher said: “I don’t think Bryan Mbeumo is going to be a superstar.
“I think he makes them better, but I’m going to give him a 7.”
And when it came to Viktor Gyokeres, Cole went with an 8 out of 10 as he said: “Good signing, exactly what Arsenal need at centre-forward.”
Meanwhile, Crouch gave Gyokeres a 7 out of 10 and said: “Love him as a footballer, fantastic player, but still slightly unproven in the Premier League.”
What Mikel Arteta said about Viktor Gyokeres debut
Arsenal weren’t at their best against Man United, with many of the Gunners’ players underperforming on the day.
Viktor Gyokeres was criticised after a quiet debut, while Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke weren’t especially great either.
However, Mikel Arteta said Arsenal did not get the best out of Gyokeres on his competitive debut for the club.
“Well, he did a lot of things very good,” he told reporters after the match.
“You can tell especially in our high press and rhythm that we demand, that especially in the first half we were giving a bit too much time.
“It is something that we have to work on him, especially there.
“Then in the final action situation, he did not have that many chances to do that, because in the previous action, we had to play that last ball and the line was standing still with 40 metres to play.
“We did not manage to put the ball through to exploit his quality. But overall, coming away to Man United, winning your first game with Arsenal, is a good start.”
Arteta also said Gyokeres and the other new signings weren’t at their highest level physically.
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