Not every defender can manage Erling Haaland’s ability, but if one man could, it would be Tony Adams.
Adams is the benchmark for English defenders and captains, having led Arsenal in title-winning seasons in three different decades.
There’s a reason why Adams is forever cast in bronze outside of the Emirates Stadium, and it’s fair to say that those carrying the torch are doing a superb job.
Arsenal’s defence rarely slips up, which is one reason why the Gunners are favourites to win the Premier League, but how would Adams fare in today’s game?
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Tony Adams fancies his chances against Viktor Gyokeres and Erling Haaland
Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have their work cut out defending against some of the best strikers in the world in the Premier League.
Arsenal signed a top striker in Viktor Gyokeres in the summer, which would’ve come as good news to Saliba.
Saliba said it was ‘so tough’ facing Gyokeres last season when he was at Sporting CP, but in Adams’ eyes, coming up against the Swede would simply be a routine outing.
“Bread and butter for me, I’ll be honest,” Adams said when asked on talkSPORT how he’d find defending against Gyokeres.
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Adams isn't concerned about Gyokeres 😅
The Arsenal legend, unprovoked, went even further, stating that he’d also find it easy to limit Erling Haaland.
“Haaland as well, that would’ve been perfect for me, on my day.”
At that moment, Henry Winter butted in to clarify, “Sorry, you say you would’ve dealt with Haaland?”
Adams only needed one word to respond: “Easy.”
One of the most interesting parts of the debate, however, was when Adams admitted that he would struggle to track players like Kai Havertz.
“I didn’t like those Havertz [type of players], who kind of like drop off,” he said.
Havertz offers Arteta something that even Gyokeres can’t, being a midfielder-turned-striker who has the transferable skills of a playmaker and a centre-forward.
Tony Adams is a fan of Viktor Gyokeres at Arsenal
There’s been so much negative discourse about Gyokeres since his transfer to Arsenal.
While Adams thinks he’d find defending against the Swede easy, he by no means doubts the quality that the striker has added to the Arsenal squad.
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When asked if Gyokeres has been a bad signing for Arsenal, Adams responded:
“No, I think he adds to the squad. Don’t judge him too soon; a lot of people are getting on his back. I think he’s a good alternative. I think he’s very useful.
“That squad of players, when you’ve got Havertz and Jesus as well, it’s a very good squad, the coach can go, ‘actually we need this’, bang, on you go son.”
Adams is spot on, as what Arteta has now is variation in the centre-forward role, something he had been dreaming about for years at the Emirates.
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