Arteta Defends Gyökeres: Elite? Carragher Questions Arsenal’s Striker

Arteta Defends Gyökeres After Draw with Manchester City

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta came to the defense of Viktor Gyökeres after the striker failed to score in the recent 1-1 draw against Manchester City. Gyökeres, a £55 million signing, had a discreet participation in the match, with only 22 touches. The Swedish striker failed to make any shots on goal, repeating similar performances in the matches against Manchester United and Liverpool. Arteta highlighted that Gyökeres was close to scoring on several occasions and that the team must provide him with more opportunities.

There were many situations where the opportunities were there and the final pass was missing.

Mikel Arteta

Arteta’s statements came after Jamie Carragher, former Liverpool defender, questioned whether Gyökeres is truly an elite player, suggesting he hasn’t performed at his best in important matches.

Carragher also commented that Arsenal’s problems lie more in chance creation than in Gyökeres’ finishing, arguing that not enough clear opportunities have been generated for him. Gyökeres also failed to score against Athletic Bilbao in the middle of the week, where Gabriel Martinelli came on as a substitute and scored a goal. Martinelli, who was not a starter against Manchester City, stood out again with a goal in added time. Arteta praised the young winger’s mentality.

Gabi is in a very good moment again after the match he had in Bilbao.

Mikel Arteta

Martinelli could start in the Carabao Cup third-round match against Port Vale, while Noni Madueke could miss the match after being substituted at halftime against Manchester City. Arteta revealed that Madueke suffered a physical problem and could not continue.