Michael Owen believes Arsenal are ‘not happy’ with Viktor Gyokeres and feels he will be replaced this summer if a world-class striker becomes available.
Gyokeres was signed in a £64 million deal from Sporting CP last summer and has scored 21 goals in 54 appearances in his debut campaign for Arsenal.
However, the 27-year-old has faced criticism over his playing style, technical ability and effectiveness in high-profile matches.
Owen believes Arsenal’s playing style could change next season having won their first Premier League title in 22 years, and says Mikel Arteta will not hesitate in the transfer window if he can strengthen his squad with a world-class attacker.
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‘They’ve won it playing like this at the moment, that’s not to say they’re going to be like this forever,’ Owen told Premier League Productions.
‘Arsenal would love to find another centre-forward – they’re not happy with Gyokeres really. They’re not happy with a couple of positions.
‘If someone comes available that’s top, if a Thierry Henry becomes available again, they’d move heaven and earth to get somebody like that in.
‘That might change the dynamic of things as well. Okay, they’re not the greatest of watches, granted, I’d say that, but that’s not to say they’ll be like that forever. They might evolve, they might get better.
‘They’ve got to be careful, like a Liverpool, spending £400 million over a summer trying to be even better again, and they ruin what they’ve got. That’s the risk, that’s the management, that’s the next stage.’
Arsenal finished seven points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and Owen believes Arteta’s side can go on to win the title again next season due to the lack of competition from rival clubs.
‘We thought about Liverpool last season but I certainly think about Arsenal, you can see them repeating what they’ve just done,’ Owen said.
‘This is a very, very strong, solid, efficient team that you can see they’re going to do it again. You can see them knocking that points total together again.
‘And when you look at the opposition, Liverpool are in turmoil, Chelsea are in turmoil, they’re playing really poorly, Manchester United are upwardly mobile at the moment but they’ve still got a lot of surgeries, a couple of big players going, European football to contend with, it might be a year too early.
‘A lot of the top teams are struggling at the moment. There is an opportunity for Arsenal, if they keep that consistency, which I can’t see any reason why they wouldn’t. It could be theirs for the immediate future.’
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