Pundit says he’d be going ‘mad’ at Arsenal if he was in £63m player’s shoes right now

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Arsenal can make a huge early statement in the race for the Premier League title with a victory over Liverpool at Anfield.

Mikel Arteta is sweating over the fitness of Ben White and Martin Odegaard before the clash, whilst Christian Norgaard is also a doubt having not trained all week.

Kai Havertz has undergone knee surgery and Bukayo Saka has been ruled out for a month, however, the Gunners will be confident they have a deep enough squad to cope with the setbacks.

A much-improved performance against Leeds has given them confidence heading into the crunch clash, although former Arsenal striker Tony Woodcock thinks one player will not be happy with the current situation at the club.

READ MORE: Pundit says Arsenal need to get ‘exciting’ player to change his ways vs Liverpool, ‘for one game only’

Tony Woodcock says he would be ‘going mad’ if he was Viktor Gyokeres at Arsenal

Speaking on the latest episode of ‘The Grumpy Old Men’ podcast, Woodcock has claimed that he would be ‘going mad’ if he was Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres.

Gyokeres silenced Gary Neville by scoring a brace during the Gunners 5-0 victory over Leeds United, however, Woodcock thinks the Swede is making intelligent runs and not being found by his teammates.

Woodcock stated: “I was saying on Saturday watching the new Arsenal centre-forward if I was in that position and he keeps showing and he’s moving and not one player’s looking to play him in I would have been going mad.

“I would have been saying you know get your head up look to play me in.”

Eberechi Eze has been backed to get the best out of Gyokeres given that he is a player that looks to slide passes behind the defence.

He also has better ball-striking than Odegaard, therefore can look to hit the space for Gyokeres earlier from a deeper position.

Arsenal will take time to adapt to Viktor Gyokeres

Having played with a false nine system for the last two seasons with Havertz in the role, it will take time for the Gunners to adapt to having a natural centre forward.

Arteta’s side have been so used to controlling possession and working teams from side to side that playing a more direct pass in behind defences will seem alien to the players.

However, Riccardo Calafiori showed that a simple clip in the channel can bring success for the Gunners this season given the running power and directness of Gyokeres.

The Swede’s first goal in the Premier League came from just that scenario and Gyokeres proved Micah Richards correct in favouring the left channel before cutting in and finishing in emphatic fashion.