Theo Walcott suggests Arsenal once had a player similar to Viktor Gyokeres but he was sold

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Arsenal star Viktor Gyokeres has been the talk of the town in recent days.

The Sweden international ended his goal drought by scoring a brace against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Before that, opinions on Gyokeres were divided – some criticised him for his lack of goals, while others praised his contribution to the team.

Clarence Seedorf, Alan Shearer and Theo Walcott belonged to the second category, and the latter even likened Gyokeres to one of his old teammates – Olivier Giroud.

Theo Walcott explains the similarity between Viktor Gyokeres and Olivier Giroud

Giroud joined Arsenal from Montpellier in the summer of 2012.

The Frenchman was given the big task of replacing Robin van Persie at the Emirates, and he had a tough start to life in the famous red and white.

However, despite his shortcomings in front of goal, his Arsenal teammates always respected him for the work he did for the team.

Walcott, who played many games with Giroud in attack, has now explained why he appreciated him so much.

After Seedorf hailed the way Gyokeres helps his teammates, Walcott said on CBS Sports: “We had Olivier Giroud. I played with Olivier Giroud.

“He was probably one player who was really an outstanding centre-forward because he got the best out of me. At times, he’s probably underappreciated as an Arsenal player.

“But the amount of goals he scored and how he affected the game… When I say affected the game, he occupied people, and it created more space.”

There’s one major difference between Olivier Giroud and Viktor Gyokeres

Giroud was underrated during his time at Arsenal, but he had his flaws as well.

The Frenchman was excellent at what he did, but he just wasn’t the striker to do what Van Persie did before him – score 30 goals a season in the Premier League.

There were times when Giroud needed five chances to score one goal, but with Gyokeres, it is completely different.

The new Arsenal striker is much more clinical, and if he gets a clear-cut opportunity, we think he will bury it more often than not.

That is the major difference between Giroud and Gyokeres, and it could prove to be the difference in the title race this season.