Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has suggested that either Gabriel Jesus or Kai Havertz should be Arsenal’s starting striker from now on, labelling both options “a better player” than Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres joined the club for £55m in the summer in a signing that many felt could prove to be the final piece of the jigsaw for Arsenal, though the Sweden striker hasn’t quite managed to settle at the Emirates, scoring just five goals in 17 Premier League appearances so far.
The 27-year-old has become the focus of an Arsenal attack that hasn’t quite clicked in recent weeks, and he was once again fairly ineffective despite the Gunners’s dominant performance in the 4-1 rout of Aston Villa.
To make matters worse, Jesus came on as a substitute for Gyokeres and scored the goal of the game late on, stroking a brilliant effort into the far corner to make it 4-0.
And speaking after the match, Sky Sports pundit Carragher said that he is “a huge fan of Jesus”, before adding that either the Brazilian or Havertz “should be starting” ahead of Gyokeres.
“The one negative out of tonight for Arsenal, is that Gyokeres should not be starting, when they have players like this,” explained Carragher.
“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.”
Jesus and Havertz have recently returned from long injury lay-offs, with the former netting his first goal in over a year against Villa after recently ending his recovery from ACL surgery.
While Gyokeres was signed to spearhead the Arsenal attack after a promising spell at Sporting, the Sweden international has failed to hit the ground running in England, and Carragher claimed that Jesus and Havertz are both better options to lead the Arsenal line at present.
“There’s been questions in the past asking if [Jesus] is good enough for Arsenal to go and win the league,” added the former England international. “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 on the bench. I think Arsenal need to improve on Gyokeres and they’ve got players that can in Jesus.”
