Andrea Berta faces the prospect of his first-choice summer transfer target, Viktor Gyokeres, being outperformed by a player who was further down his list against Aston Villa.
That player is, of course, Ollie Watkins, who just reminded everyone away at Chelsea why he remains one of the Premier League’s top number nines.
True or false: Ollie Watkins playing for Arsenal would give the team a better chance of winning the Premier League than Viktor Gyokeres…
So whilst Gyokeres’ slow start to life at Arsenal continued at home to Brighton and Hove Albion, Watkins came off the bench to score a brace at Stamford Bridge.
The two strikers are actually level on five Premier League goals each this term, but ahead of Tuesday’s clash, they are also in quite different form.
Ollie Watkins could inflict yet more pain on Arsenal
Watkins could once again inflict yet more pain on Arsenal and remind the Gunners why they were so wrong not to bring him to N5.
Rather than playing it safe by moving for Premier League-proven quality in their hunt for a number nine, Arsenal instead signed Viktor Gyokeres.
Right now, that gamble is just not paying off, as Gyokeres has been struggling at Arsenal, and the signs really don’t look very encouraging.
Back in the summer, The Telegraph claimed that Berta opted to push for Gyokeres as the Gunners’ centre forward signing ahead of other options. One of Arsenal’s options was Watkins.
Ultimately, Arsenal were unwilling to spend £60 million on Watkins, but after paying around £8 million more for Gyokeres, that might have been poor judgment.
How concerned are you by Viktor Gyokeres’ performance vs Brighton
Now, Watkins isn’t having the most exciting season of his career, with just five goals, but perhaps in this Arsenal team, he could be doing better than Gyokeres.
Watkins is well respected, including by Declan Rice, and his two goals against Chelsea just serve as a reminder why he’s still a threat.
In 12 matches against the North London club, the 29-year-old has six goals – a tally in which he will be confident of adding to this midweek.
Morgan Rogers will be looking to outperform Eberechi Eze
The competition for places in the 2026 World Cup England squad is really heating up, especially in the number ten role.
Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze, who are set to go head-to-head on Tuesday, are among the players fighting it out for those spots.
Rogers has been flying lately; meanwhile, Eze has found himself on the bench, given his form has been quite off the boil.
The Arsenal attacker has just four Premier League goals this season, three of which came in the same game against Spurs.
Eze now faces a battle to earn his spot back at the Emirates Stadium, but also in the England squad, with Rogers ready to prove himself to Thomas Tuchel.
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