Jamie Carragher has urged Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to drop Viktor Gyokeres, claiming the striker ‘lacks quality’ leading the line.
Gyokeres was named in the Gunners’ starting line-up for their crunch match with title rivals Aston Villa on Tuesday night, but failed to find the back of the net from open play for the seventh Premier League game on the spin.
The 27-year-old missed a handful of big chances and struggled to have an impact on Arsenal’s attacking play, despite the league leaders impressively dispatching their title rivals 4-1 at the Emirates.
Pressure on Gyokeres then only intensified when Gabriel Jesus found the net less than 60 seconds after replacing the £64m summer signing, with a beautiful bending effort.
Jesus’ brilliant but brief cameo was enough to convince former Liverpool defender Carragher that not only should he be starting instead of Gyokeres moving forward, but that the returning Kai Havertz, who was an unused substitute, should move above the Swede in pecking order too.
‘I am a huge fan of Jesus, always have been,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports. ‘He’s not always an amazing finisher, but he’s a fantastic footballer.
Viktor Gyokeres struggled in front fo goal against Aston Villa, despite the Gunners winning 4-1
Jamie Carragher believes that Mikel Arteta should drop the Swede for striker Gabriel Jesus
Jesus found the back of the net less than 60 seconds after replacing Gyokeres on Tuesday
‘The one negative out of tonight for Arsenal is that Gyokeres should not be starting when they have players like this. In a couple of games’ time, when Jesus is a bit more up to speed, he should be starting.
‘He’s a better player than Gyokeres – that’s a fact. There have been questions in the past asking if [Jesus] is good enough for Arsenal to go and win the league, but right now he’s better than the guy they brought in, who they thought was going to win them the league.
‘Him or Havertz as the central striker is a better player than Gyokeres; he lacks finesse and quality when you think of what they’ve got them on the bench.
‘I think Arsenal need to improve on Gyokeres, and they’ve got players that can in Jesus.
Jesus strike was his first in almost a year, following a gruelling 11 months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
And following the match, Arteta couldn’t hide his joy when asked about the Brazilian’s performance.
The Arsenal boss said: ‘I’m very happy for [Jesus]. He’s put in an incredible effort, and he’s relentless; he wants more.
‘He looks really, really, really happy. His emotional state is really high at the moment, and he needed that goal.’
