A former teammate of Viktor Gyokeres believes he will struggle at Arsenal and says he ‘never had him down to be a £64m striker’.
Mikel Arteta was desperate to sign a new striker this summer and has put his faith in former Sporting hitman Gyokeres.
Gyokeres enjoyed two sensational seasons in Portugal, scoring 97 goals in 102 games and winning back-to-back league titles.
Before his productive spell at Sporting, Gyokeres played for three EFL clubs – Coventry City, Swansea City and Brighton.
Brighton signed the forward from Swedish minnows Brommapojkarna in 2018 but Gyokeres only made three first-team appearances for the Seagulls before being sold three years later.
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It was at Coventry that things started to click for Gyokeres, who scored 38 goals in 91 matches in the Championship to earn a £20m move to Sporting.
During his three-year spell at Brighton, Gyokeres was sent out on three separate loan deals as he failed to convince the club – and clearly his teammates – of his potential.
Former Premier League striker Glenn Murray was at Brighton the same time as Gyokeres and says he ‘never had him down to be a £64m striker’.
Murray fears Gyokeres is ‘not the one’ and will struggle to make the grade at Arsenal, who have aspirations of winning the Premier League this season.
The former Crystal Palace and Bournemouth star says that while he instantly recognised Arsenal defender Ben White as a superior player at Brighton, he was unimpressed by Gyokeres.
‘I don’t think Viktor Gyokeres is the one – it’s such a big step,’ Murray, 41, told BBC Sport. ‘I was with him at Brighton and I never had him down to be a £64m striker.
‘When Ben White stepped into our first team, right away everyone knew how he good he was – he was of that standard.
‘When Viktor came in, it was more a case where you thought he was all right. I am not sure he suits Arsenal’s style, either.’
Arteta has been in desperate need of a new striker for well over a year and considered new Manchester United signing Benjamin Sesko before Arsenal focused on Gyokeres.
The 27-year-old scored his first Arsenal goal in the pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao last week and is set to make his Premier League debut at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Why Viktor Gyokeres could struggle at Arsenal
Viktor Gyokeres has widely been described as the final piece of the jigsaw for an Arsenal side that have come agonisingly close to winning the Premier League. But the same was said about Romelu Lukaku upon his return to Chelsea in 2021 and we know how that worked out.
Gyokeres’ stats for Sporting were incredible but Darwin Nunez enjoyed similar success in Portugal before underwhelming in the Premier League. It’s taken a fair while for Gyokeres, 27, to earn a move to one of Europe’s top five leagues. This time two years ago, in fact, he had just spent his fourth successive season in the Championship, scoring a respectable but far from remarkable 21 goals in 46 games.
He’s an upgrade on Kai Havertz but don’t expect mind-blowing returns from a player who has been branded a ‘gamble’ by the likes of Paul Scholes and Gary Lineker. ‘I don’t think he’s the guy,’ Rio Ferdinand even said shortly after his £64m move to north London was announced. Mikel Arteta doesn’t get too many signings wrong but it was him, remember, who pushed to sign Raheem Sterling last summer.
Arsenal were torn between signing Gyokeres or Benjamin Sesko earlier in the summer. Time will tell if they made the right decision.
Louis Sealey, Metro Deputy Sports Editor
Assessing Gyokeres’ performance against Bilbao, Arteta said: ‘He pins both centre backs. He is a player that the moment you leave him with space one-on-one, he is going to destroy you.
‘He’s going to create a lot of space for us as well. In any moment or situation, he is a player that can score a goal.
‘That first goal is always very important and the way he took it as well, was really, really good.’
But Murray is not the only pundit to have concerns about Gyokeres, with ex-Arsenal defender William Gallas suggesting it could take him a while to ‘adapt’ to the Premier League.
‘Will Viktor Gyokeres be able to adapt straight away? Personally, I don’t think so,’ Gallas said.
‘It doesn’t mean it’s not a good player, but when players come from abroad we usually see that it takes time.
‘Strikers often take time, playing in Portugal is also completely different to playing in England, but Arsenal do need him to adapt straight away because their target is to win the Premier League.
‘If I could’ve chosen between Gyokeres and Alexander Isak, I think Isak would’ve been a better option. We know he is proven in the Premier League and that he is 100% at the level.’
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