Arsenal legend Tony Adams says the jury is still out on Viktor Gyokeres and he ‘would have liked’ to have seen the club sign Ollie Watkins instead this summer.
The Gunners came under fire for failing to bring in an out-and-out centre-forward as the club went a fifth season on the bounce without winning a major trophy under Mikel Arteta last term.
While Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino both occupied the false nine role with varying degrees of success, Arteta made it clear that Arsenal would be on the hunt for a genuine frontman heading into this summer’s transfer window.
Several high-profile strikers had been linked with Arsenal, including Liam Delap, Victor Osimhen and Benjamin Sesko, before the north Londoners honed in on an agreement for Sporting sensation Gyokeres.
Watkins also remained a player of interest at the Emirates after Arsenal missed out on deal for the attacker in January, but Aston Villa have been insistent throughout their talks that the England international is not for sale.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro’s new weekly football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it’s an open goal.
Gyokeres took Portuguese football by storm with his extraordinary goalscoring exploits over the last two seasons, in which he netted 97 times in 102 appearances for the Primeira Liga champions.
But there remain questions as to whether Gyokeres’ form will translate well to challenges of the Premier League given the Swede is yet to test himself against the very best on a consistent basis.
These concerns – and others – are shared by ex-Arsenal captain Tony Adams, who revealed during an Indo Sport season preview why he wasn’t completely confident about the state of play at his former club ahead of the new campaign.
Asked if he was a fan of Arteta, a hesitant Adams replied: ‘Ahhhh… [audience laughs]… What?! Was there too much of a long pause there?
‘I think he’s got a really big call to make this year and, for me, he hasn’t done it and the call is to make Declan Rice captain.
‘Declan is my kind of captain and it might free up [Martin] Odegaard up to play with a bit more freedom because he had a very average season last year.
‘The Portuguese lad [Gyokeres]… I don’t know yet. He’s not tried and tested.
‘I would have liked to have seen them get Ollie Watkins to be honest with you. He’s a Gooner, he might have given us a year and we might have won the title.
‘But I think sometimes when you’ve got the main man and the captain of the club… Terry Venables did it, he took it off David Platt and he put me as captain and Glenn Hoddle took me out and put Alan Shearer, which was a silly decision!
‘But every now and again, as a manager, you have to put someone that reflects you, reflects the football club, someone who thinks can actually take you to the next level.’
Adams believes Arteta would have taken the armband off Odegaard and handed it to ‘proper captain’ Rice if he was a ‘big manager’ capable of making difficult decisions.
‘I think he’s better than Arteta, I think he’s a winner,’ the two-time Premier League winner said of Rice.
‘I think Rice is an Arsenal leader, I think he is. He’s good in the dressing room, around the training camp.
‘He’s got standards, he’s got principles and I can see the man and he’s a proper player, a proper captain.
‘I would have done it, but Arteta hasn’t done it so I’m being critical of Arteta at the moment. Big managers go, “Right actually, you’re my man now!”‘
Adams is adamant that Arsenal’s long wait for a Premier League title will continue as long as Odegaard remains skipper.
‘It’s been five years now [since Arsenal won a major trophy],’ the ex-England centre-back went on.
‘He got great success at the start with a very defensive team. We didn’t have the forwards so we defended in numbers.
‘They didn’t defend well but they defended as a unit. He got everyone behind the ball basically and we nicked the FA Cup.
‘Going on and winning leagues and to win league titles, you have to be a [Jurgen] Klopp, you have to be a [Sir Alex] Ferguson, you have to lead by example and you have to be a winner, you have to go about your business and that reflects in your captain.
‘Making Odegaard your captain is a reflection of Arteta and I can really see that.
‘I’m saying to Arteta, “Come on, step up now! It’s your time to be a winning manager and a fantastic manager!”, because you’re not going to win the league with Odegaard as captain.’
Arsenal kick off their new campaign with an eagerly anticipated trip to Ruben Amorim’s new-look Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
Gyokeres opened his account for the Gunners in the side’s pre-season win over Athletic Bilbao, putting forward his case to be selected in Arteta’s starting XI.
But it remains to be seen if Arteta will be prepared to throw the Sweden international straight in at the deep end at Old Trafford, with Havertz still an option up front.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.