Pundit has noticed one thing Viktor Gyokeres does just like Erling Haaland

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal would love Viktor Gyokeres to be their answer to Erling Haaland, with comparisons between the pair already emerging.

Haaland has become a villain in Arsenal’s eyes, as you’d expect when battling the Norwegian superstar in a Premier League title race. 

Manchester City’s talisman is without a doubt one of the best strikers in world football, but last season, the 25-year-old was actually outscored by none other than Gyokeres. 

There’s reason to believe that Gyokeres can hit the heights Haaland is in the Premier League, but first, the Swede has many goals to score. 

• READ MORE: Gary Neville thinks he knows how many goals Viktor Gyokeres will score for Arsenal this season

Robbie Earle says Viktor Gyokeres has Erling Haaland’s ugly style of play 

Gyokeres boasts a devastating conversion rate in the Premier League so far, getting off to a very strong start since joining Arsenal from Sporting CP in the summer. 

The 27-year-old has gone from being a big fish in Portugal to a smaller fish in a bigger pond in England, with Haaland still very much the benchmark for Premier League strikers.

That being said, only four games into the season, and the two strikers have been compared to each other, based solely on what they offer to their respective clubs.

Pundit Robbie Earle made the point after Arsenal’s win over Nottingham Forest, praising the ugly side of Gyokeres’ game. 

“He’s [Gyokeres] brought a bit of ugliness. He’s blunt,” Earle said on The 2 Robbies podcast.

“14 games they [Arsenal] drew last season, often playing beautiful football, he’s blunt.

“They play a long ball over the top, Eze squares the ball across, he smashed it in. That’s what Arsenal need to do and kill the games. Last season that would’ve been a one-nil, oh, the other team started getting in it.”

Earle went on to state that he’s a fan of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal possessing an ugly streak, something he says Haaland offers to Man City. 

“I don’t mind Mikel having a bit of ugly, they need a mix,” he said.

“Erling Haaland is a mix for Manchester City’s beautiful football, and I think Gyokeres can be that guy for Arsenal.” 

Gyokeres says he’s in the same bracket as Haaland, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski

Gyokeres needs to prove himself in England to be regarded as a striker of Haaland’s calibre, but the Swede believes he’s already worthy of being in those discussions.

In an interview with L’Equipe in July, the Arsenal striker shared his opinion that he’s ‘definitely’ in the same band of quality as Haaland, Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane. 

“I’m definitely one of them; it’s hard to classify me, but yes, I’m at the same table as them now.

“They are extraordinary players, at the top level for many years, who have proven much more than I have.”

It’s refreshing for Arsenal to have a number nine so obsessed with scoring goals, with Gyokeres being the figure Arteta’s side so dearly needed all along.