Arsenal’s 0-0 draw against Liverpool has given rise to a lot of opinions.
The Gunners were the favourites to win the game against the defending Premier League champions, and they pushed hard in the first half.
A tactical change in the second half from Arne Slot gave Liverpool control, but they didn’t do anything with the ball. The Reds didn’t even have a shot on target.
Yet, Liverpool are getting all the praise and Arsenal are being hammered by the pundits. One player who has received a lot of criticism is Viktor Gyokeres.
Fill in the blank: Viktor Gyokeres is now worth £___m following his start to life at Arsenal…
Arsenal paid £63m in the summer…
Michael Owen says Viktor Gyokeres lacks ‘class’ to win big games at Arsenal
Gyokeres had another poor outing for Arsenal against Liverpool.
The Swede, like always, didn’t have too many touches of the ball, but what was frustrating was that his movement inside the box showed no signs of improvement.
Arsenal put in a few incredible crosses – one each from Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka stood out – but Gyokeres was caught ball-watching on both occasions.
That irked many Arsenal supporters during the game, and Michael Owen, who knows a thing or two about being a top-class striker, has now had his say.
The former Liverpool star criticised Gyokeres and claimed that he will only score goals against smaller teams. He further claimed that if Arsenal want to win the big fixtures, they will need someone with more class than the former Sporting man leading their line.
Speaking on Premier League Productions, Owen said: “They wanted him [Gyokeres] to put the finishing touches on this team and they’re probably still searching for that person. If the Champions League final was tomorrow night, I’m not sure he would start.
“They will continue and persist with him, of course, because they paid so much money, you want to give him all the chances. And do you know what? Against Burnley, against Nottingham Forest, against Everton, whoever it might be, he probably is going to score a lot of goals, he can finish, he will be in the box.
“But to win these games [against Liverpool], you need a bit of class, you just need a bit of class and that’s just where he lacks.
“There’s a bit of a saying, a flat-track bully, I think he could be that type. Playing at home against lesser teams, he’ll score one, two, maybe even an odd hat-trick, he’ll take penalties, at the end of the season you’ll look at it and probably think, ‘do you know what, he’s got into double figures, not a bad return’.
“However, when you look closely at it, did he make a difference in the big games, the ones where you really need your big players? And sadly so far, only half the season gone, it’s a ‘no’, and as I say, the jury is definitely still out.”
If you could give one advice to Viktor Gyokeres at Arsenal right now, what would it be?
Viktor Gyokeres may need a break at Arsenal
Gyokeres will be the first to admit that he hasn’t hit the ground running at Arsenal.
The former Coventry man has scored seven goals in 24 games, which is just not good enough, and you can see that his confidence is almost non-existent now as a result.
Gyokeres is physically fit, but mentally, he may need a break.
Mikel Arteta should just take him out of the spotlight for a few games. With Gabriel Jesus back and Kai Havertz also returning, the Arsenal manager has the luxury to do that.
That could help Gyokeres find his feet in the coming weeks.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
