Is Raptora the unofficial police of le Grove or something? Come in here for my morning read and i can't scroll past a few comments without him giving his same old opinion again and again.
Mention kai and he's in the replies, mention gyok and he's there to bash him. At least the former resident posters used to be interesting, talking about subjects from music to movies to politics. Sharing their own experiences of life. Hell, Sid was even very funny that I enjoyed his constant debates and weird jokes.
Wish I could say I read yet another Gyokores hit piece by yours truly but given he's never given any sort of indepth analysis of the football under Arteta or why we seem to continue to have so many injuries I just didn't bother.
Pep Guardiola criticised Rayan Cherki and Savinho for their defensive work despite both scoring in Man City’s Carabao Cup win over Brentford.
Guardiola: "I’m really pleased for the impact from the guys who came from the bench, because in the second half Rayan Cherki didn’t do the job he should defensively — he had no energy. Savinho neither."
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Yeah, about Cherki. Lazy player and so limited physically. Technically gifted but covers such a small space. Bruno F is about 2847374x better than Cherki but Hab will tell you he's shite while Cherki is him.
Another blank, this time against bottom side Wolves, meant the £55m signing from Sporting has failed to score in 11 out of 14 Premier League appearances this season. It is a record roughly the inverse of Haaland's and it is becoming a growing source of unease.
It may seem an unfair comparison. But these are the standards. Haaland's goals against Crystal Palace put him on 17 for the season in the Premier League. He had an even higher total at the same point of his first campaign, no bedding-in period required.
Of course, it is Arsenal, not Manchester City, who sit top right now. They remain a formidable outfit collectively. But the "major impact" predicted by sporting director Andrea Berta from Gyokeres when he was signed in July is yet to materialise.
At 27, with a Haaland-esque scoring record behind him, he was billed as the ready-made No 9 supporters craved. But the worry is that the physical advantages he enjoyed in Portugal have been lost in the far tougher conditions of the Premier League.
Consider the drop in his duel success rate, from 50 per cent in Portugal's Primeira Liga last season to just 37 per cent this term.
The Wolves game, during which he only had 15 touches and one shot, was just the latest in which he has struggled to exert himself.
A dip in his output was to be expected given the step up in quality. But the extent of it, four months in, is a cause for concern, even factoring in last month's unfortunately timed injury.
The defining image of his performance against Wolves was of him failing to reach Bukayo Saka's low cross in the first half, caught on his heels, as he was from Declan Rice's ball in late on against Aston Villa in Arsenal's previous Premier League game.
Being in the right place to convert chances such as those should be meat and drink for a penalty-box poacher. But the late arrivals have become a theme. Gyokeres is averaging only 0.76 one-touch shots per 90 minutes. Haalaand, by contrast, is averaging 1.85.
It was to the surprise of no one at Selhurst Park on Sunday that the Norwegian only needed one chance to break the game open, his first goal coming from a characteristic one-touch finish as he found room in the Crystal Palace box to head home a cross.
Gyokeres, though, is not getting enough shots off generally.
Which forwards take the most shots per 90 minutes?
1. Malen 4.17
2. Cunha 3.92
3. Haaland 3.86
45. Gyokeres 1.98
His overall average of 1.98 per 90 minutes puts him 45th this season among the 81 players listed as forwards by Opta with at least 20 per cent of minutes played. Gyokeres sits between West Ham's Niclas Fullkrug and Brighton's Georginio Rutter on the list.
The numbers raise questions about service.
Gyokeres is a different profile to Arsenal's other options up front, preferring to play off the shoulder of opposition centre-backs, with space to run into. Naturally, then, he needs to be fed differently.
But his team-mates are trying. Arsenal have made more through-balls than any other Premier League side this season, according to Opta. Their average has increased by nearly 80 per cent, from just over two per game last season to nearly four this term, reflecting a concerted effort to add greater incision to their passing.
Through balls:
1. Arsenal - 60
2. Man United - 56
3. Man City - 52
4. Chelsea - 45
Tracking data from GeniusIQ shows his runs are being targeted by passes at a higher rate than either Hugo Ekitike's at Liverpool or Haaland's at Manchester City.
Percentage of runs targeted by passes
Runs / Targeted / %
1. Ollie Watkins 434 / 165 / 38%
2. Igor Thiago 402 / 151 / 38%
3. Viktor Gyokeres 350 / 129 / 37%
4. Hugo Ekitike 305 / 103 / 34%
Of course, those passes need to be right. His team-mates are still adapting to him. Arteta has spoken of the need to build up chemistry and connections on the pitch.
But Gyokeres must do his part too.
Too often, when he is found, he is unable to hold on to the ball. It is partly a technical issue but it is also one of space.
According to GeniusIQ, Gyokeres has averaged the least space when available to receive passes of any Premier League player this season, at 3.14m, a statistic which reflects his struggle to create separation from his markers through his movement.
Least space when available for passes / avg
1. Viktor Gyokeres 3.14m
2. Liam Delap 3.56m
3. William Osula 3.76m
4. Marc Guiu 3.79m
5. Beto 3.86m
Creating that space is of course more difficult when you come up against deep-lying, compact defences as often as Arsenal do. But that challenge is not unique to them.
Haaland and Ekitike face similar circumstances with Manchester City and Liverpool and yet average 4.92m and 5.32m of space respectively when available to receive passes.
........
Gyokeres is of course a different player, signed to provide the killer instinct Arsenal lacked. Haaland shows that touch volume is not important if the goals flow. But the feeling remains that Arsenal are a better side with a striker who gets involved in their approach play.
Their two best attacking performances of the season, against Tottenham and Bayern Munich last month, came with Mikel Merino starting up front, interchanging positions with team-mates and dropping into midfield, while also providing a threat in the box.
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Fantastic deep-dive analysis on the facts behind why #14 is struggling. TLDR: "He gets no service" is vastly overstated as shown by the various stats on display. Gyokeres is finding it hard to create any separation with his opponents or make something out of the passes aimed at him.
I got my prediction about Palace's starting 11 wildly off. They've gone with reserves tonight and so will play the first team against Leeds. Meaning the first 11 will either be knackered or rotated against us. Either way, I still want us to play a largely second string side, but it makes us progressing more likely.
Please let’s not sacrifice a big trophy for a the Caribou Cup , or indeed any domestic cup , not with these injuries these days. Know the narrative is that Arteta needs to win something or else, but make it winning something big, this team are capable of key players can stay injury free.
Well, the Guardian is releasing the Top 100 male players from 2025 and here's where our players ranked. This is from a 219 person voting panel including players (including Hamann, Lahm, Romario), coaches, journalists etc.
Merino: 90th
Zubimendi: 70th
Raya: 58th
Eze: 56th
Odegaard 45th
Saliba: 33rd
Gabriel Magalhaes: 29th
Gyokeres: 28th
Saka: 26th
Rice: 15th
Have to say Timber got robbed and Gyokeres should be lower down on the list although much of his ranking is based on last season's performances in Portugal. Not sure many of us are claiming Gyokeres is our third best player (except Pedro of course!). Calafiori would probably be a contender too if not for injuries last season.
If they had squeezed Timber on to the list, we would have a full starting XI of players in the Top 100. Not too bad.
Good catch-just edited it to make it clearer. I'm not sure Gyokeres ranks in our Top 13 players right now, let alone our Top 3. I'm still hopeful for him and don't want to join the bandwagon, but he definitely needs another confidence boost asap.
Let's look at how many goals those players have scored this time last year Kai: 4 Merino 1 Jesus 0, says it all for me, it's actually interesting that Big VIk is matching Kais output and he is not even at 100% yet
Havertz had more goals than Gyok in the PL at this point. He also had more assists. In all competitions he had more than double the G/A of Gyok - 13 to 6.
And that's in an Arsenal in crisis due to having huge players injured, having to play with 10 men three times, then the same players being suspended, and of course, he had to play pretty much every minute of every game for 6 months straight.
Yeah, there's nothing Gyok is better than Havertz.
On this i agree with Arteta this is what he said in his interview with the mirror newspaper: Mikel Arteta defends Viktor Gyokeres with brutal message to Arsenal teammates
Mikel Arteta has suggested other Arsenal players need to provide better service for Viktor Gyokeres after his struggles against Wolves.
Mikel Arteta has defended Viktor Gyokeres' performance against Wolves and instead partly blamed his struggles on other Arsenal stars. Regarding Gyokeres needing to contribute more whilst also requiring service, Arteta said:
"It's a collaboration between the two. He was in a lot of really good positions and the ball didn't get into the area quick enough, sharp enough or just with the precision that is required for a No. 9 to score the goal.
"But his work rate and intentions were there and we need to keep insisting."
Well, this is not the way I wanted to start my day.
Kai might not come back the same player this year or ever.
Jesus ain't lasting 90's for more than 5 games before going to the medical tent.
Merino can't play all the minutes everywhere, in all positions, all the time at a high level.
Arteta better get his defensive players back before Jan 15th as I have said before, and persuade Berta to go and get another body in January or we may be watching the AFC train slide off the rails.
“Arsenal forward Kai Havertz is set to be sidelined until early to mid-January following the setback he suffered last month in his rehab from minor knee surgery.
In November he was one week away from returning to the squad before the setback. “
I have two big issues with Gyokeres. The first is that he has no super powers. I hear many people saying that Pep would have him scoring goals, as he has Haaland scoring goals. But Haaland has elite pace, is brilliant with headed chances, and regularly scores with one touch finishes. Gyokeres has none of those things, and as far as I can see, no truly exceptional attributes.
Secondly, if you look at all the goals he scored at Sporting, they broadly fall into three categories. Goals where he picks the ball up in the left channel, drives towards goal, then cuts in and shoots; goals where he receives the ball in the penalty area and takes three or four touches before getting a shot off; and penalties. He can’t score the first type of goal in the Premiership (other than against a championship level defence like Leeds) because he lacks the pace and power to bully premiership defenders. He can’t score the second type because he’s never going to get enough time for more than a couple of touches in the box in the premiership. And Saka takes penalties ahead of him.
I would love to be proven wrong and will always support him unequivocally when he’s on the pitch - but the above makes it very hard for me to see how he’ll be a success with us.
I would add he is all misses elite iq like haaland. Haaland movement is the best in the business he has something like the least amount of offsides for the most amount of runs. Guy is phenomenal in reading zee game
I said this elsewhere and was ratioed. Whatever. Vik biggest problem is he “sits” or pushes down before moving forward. That fraction of a second is everything at this level. Surprised this is the case as there are well established training methods to correct this.
Yes his touch and strength is not what was expected but the lack of quickness
I counted 29 clips in this video, so 30+ opportunities he's failed to get the maximum of. Some half chances, some big chances. I noticed he had the option, multiple times, to pass to a free player for an easy tap-in on empty goal but he didn't do it, yet the fans are enraged about that one time Saka took the ball and converted the penalty, or that one time Saka decided to finish the attack himself, or that one time Odegaard picked the best pass instead of trying a hopeful through ball to a player with coordination issues who goes down like a sack of potatoes about 5 times per game.
But that's what the fans celebrated - a greedy striker. He was lauded for his desire to score goals. Yet his overall game is a total zero. But that didn't matter one bit to the fans. "He scores goals" they said. "I'm tired of playing midfielders at CF, it's time for a real striker" they said as they watched a compilation of his goals against teams collectively valued at the valuation of one Fabio Vieira (€30m) or less.
Watch the video and tell me again how Gyokeres has been starved of chances. Watch the video and tell me again how Arteta is the one to blame for the shocking performances of a player way out of his depth. Watch the video and tell me again how it's too early to judge him. Watch the video and tell me again how pathetic I am for banging the drum of the huge mistake we made of signing a player who has no business competing for the PL and CL trophies.
The Berta special strikes again after Joao Felix, Jackson Martinez, Lemar, washed out Diego Costa for 2x the fee he sold him to Chavs. €300m in total for 4 massive flops.
Same as Gyokeres, he's received unconditional love. I hope he learns from his mistakes but most of all, I hope he's given less power after he turned the world around to secure the Swede.
Funnily enough, I was definitely on Team Sesko in the summer transfer debate but as disappointing as Gyok has been so far this season, I think I would still take him over Sesko, at least for the next couple of seasons. Where Victor has technical limitations, it looks like Sesko's problems are more between his ears.
Really easy to say we should have taken Ekitike in hindsight but very few were arguing for him in the summer. However, right now and based on our available budget for CF (ie. no Isak) it's looking like our best bets would have been Ekitike, Woldemade or even Calvert-Lewin (even a cheeky bid for Welbeck looks appealing now!). Then the rest, including Wissa, Sesko, Gyokeres, Delap and Pedro fall into the limited value for cost category.
You make it seem like Gyok is bright. He really isn't and has shocking positioning and anticipation in the box. His best trait is that he works hard. I appreciate it but it's not good enough.
I was team Sesko only because I preferred him to Gyok, not cause he was anywhere near my top choice.
Maresca to City would actually make Chav heads explode. They would finally have confirmation that they are 2nd teir club now after a few years of denying it 😂😂😂. It would remove pep as well and give us a better chance moving forward.
If Pep truly leaves at the end of the season and we manage to lift the title, Arsenal could be on the verge of building a dynasty.
I don’t believe any other manager can match Arteta’s impact, and if we win the Premier League, top players and fans alike will recognize that they’re witnessing the rise of a historic team.
I am one of those guys that liked the Gyokeres signing in the summer but didn't believe he was the complete answer. But he is different to any of the CFs we have and came in at a cheaper price point than the young strikers that moved this summer. I said if he got 25 in all comps it would have been a major success.
I still believe we aren't playing to his strengths. You don't play balls in behind to a Giroud. He is never going to get there.
It is the other way for Gyokeres. All his best moments come from quick transitional inter plays. He struggles aerially, and with his back to goal holding off big CBs.
And the facts is we play so slowly that we let teams setup their OOP structures. We aren't a great counter attacking side. We are a squeezing side that want to take less risks.
If we are going to continue playing this way, I am glad Havertz and Jesus are back. They are tailor made for that. But we would benefit more if we can vary our style with Gyokeres imo. We would avoid being predictable at times. And he isn't going to be the answer alone because he is limited. Just like our other 2 CFs.
Where I agree - is that his biggest strengths align with attributes none of our other strikers have. His desire to run in behind consistently is a definite point of difference. I think he should be used when we’ve gone a goal or two up or against teams who play a mid block (Villa being one). But it also reminds me of when coq broke into the side. He was a distinctly average footballer, but we’d been crying out for a defensive midfielder who was prepared to sit in the middle of the pitch, and so his averageness was elevated because we were so desperate for a player with his profile.
"Gyokeres isn't going to be the answer alone because he is limited. Just like our other 2 CFs."
I mean, come on... There are levels to it. You talk about limitations then you have Gyokeres, Kai and Jesus in the same category while the latter two have both touched the world class level at some points of their careers, while the former hasn't. Not nearly even close. His biggest achievement is matching Bas Dost's numbers at Sporting.
And neither Kai nor Jesus are exactly strikers. Jesus was more a false 9/winger. Kai something like a Muller space invader. The unknown is whether Martinelli would have more luck at CF than any of the others. Admittedly whether his shooting is up to it is another question
Kai has never been worldclass. But he is the most consistent out of all of them. When he is low he is crap. His lows are too low to ever be world class.
Jesus's first 6 months is as world class as it gets but he has never reached that level since and he has scoring issues as well as availability issues.
There are only 3 truly world class strikers in world football at the moment. Kane, Mbappe and Haaland. That is it. Alvarez and Isak at Newcastle the closest after that.
Except his lows occur when he is played the full 90 every game for a full month. He presses non-stop. Wins aerial duels....but then lacks the energy for explosive finishes when a ball drops at his feet in the box. Unbalanced, he gets a quick feckless shot away.
Kai looked world class in his Leverkusen days and in the 2nd half of the 23/24 season. For Jesus, you basically agreed.
Then there's Gyokeres. The goalscorer of the Portuguese league - next to Taremi, Nunez, Goncalves, Jonas, Bas Dost, Jackson Martinez, Hulk, Oscar Cardozo, Lisandro Lopez. Some of the biggest flops in world football.
Is Raptora the unofficial police of le Grove or something? Come in here for my morning read and i can't scroll past a few comments without him giving his same old opinion again and again.
Mention kai and he's in the replies, mention gyok and he's there to bash him. At least the former resident posters used to be interesting, talking about subjects from music to movies to politics. Sharing their own experiences of life. Hell, Sid was even very funny that I enjoyed his constant debates and weird jokes.
Wish I could say I read yet another Gyokores hit piece by yours truly but given he's never given any sort of indepth analysis of the football under Arteta or why we seem to continue to have so many injuries I just didn't bother.
Pep Guardiola criticised Rayan Cherki and Savinho for their defensive work despite both scoring in Man City’s Carabao Cup win over Brentford.
Guardiola: "I’m really pleased for the impact from the guys who came from the bench, because in the second half Rayan Cherki didn’t do the job he should defensively — he had no energy. Savinho neither."
______________________________
Yeah, about Cherki. Lazy player and so limited physically. Technically gifted but covers such a small space. Bruno F is about 2847374x better than Cherki but Hab will tell you he's shite while Cherki is him.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/33799/13485210/viktor-gyokeres-needs-to-do-more-to-keep-hold-of-arsenal-place-as-gabriel-jesus-returns-the-radar
SkySports
Another blank, this time against bottom side Wolves, meant the £55m signing from Sporting has failed to score in 11 out of 14 Premier League appearances this season. It is a record roughly the inverse of Haaland's and it is becoming a growing source of unease.
It may seem an unfair comparison. But these are the standards. Haaland's goals against Crystal Palace put him on 17 for the season in the Premier League. He had an even higher total at the same point of his first campaign, no bedding-in period required.
Of course, it is Arsenal, not Manchester City, who sit top right now. They remain a formidable outfit collectively. But the "major impact" predicted by sporting director Andrea Berta from Gyokeres when he was signed in July is yet to materialise.
At 27, with a Haaland-esque scoring record behind him, he was billed as the ready-made No 9 supporters craved. But the worry is that the physical advantages he enjoyed in Portugal have been lost in the far tougher conditions of the Premier League.
Consider the drop in his duel success rate, from 50 per cent in Portugal's Primeira Liga last season to just 37 per cent this term.
The Wolves game, during which he only had 15 touches and one shot, was just the latest in which he has struggled to exert himself.
A dip in his output was to be expected given the step up in quality. But the extent of it, four months in, is a cause for concern, even factoring in last month's unfortunately timed injury.
The defining image of his performance against Wolves was of him failing to reach Bukayo Saka's low cross in the first half, caught on his heels, as he was from Declan Rice's ball in late on against Aston Villa in Arsenal's previous Premier League game.
Being in the right place to convert chances such as those should be meat and drink for a penalty-box poacher. But the late arrivals have become a theme. Gyokeres is averaging only 0.76 one-touch shots per 90 minutes. Haalaand, by contrast, is averaging 1.85.
It was to the surprise of no one at Selhurst Park on Sunday that the Norwegian only needed one chance to break the game open, his first goal coming from a characteristic one-touch finish as he found room in the Crystal Palace box to head home a cross.
Gyokeres, though, is not getting enough shots off generally.
Which forwards take the most shots per 90 minutes?
1. Malen 4.17
2. Cunha 3.92
3. Haaland 3.86
45. Gyokeres 1.98
His overall average of 1.98 per 90 minutes puts him 45th this season among the 81 players listed as forwards by Opta with at least 20 per cent of minutes played. Gyokeres sits between West Ham's Niclas Fullkrug and Brighton's Georginio Rutter on the list.
The numbers raise questions about service.
Gyokeres is a different profile to Arsenal's other options up front, preferring to play off the shoulder of opposition centre-backs, with space to run into. Naturally, then, he needs to be fed differently.
But his team-mates are trying. Arsenal have made more through-balls than any other Premier League side this season, according to Opta. Their average has increased by nearly 80 per cent, from just over two per game last season to nearly four this term, reflecting a concerted effort to add greater incision to their passing.
Through balls:
1. Arsenal - 60
2. Man United - 56
3. Man City - 52
4. Chelsea - 45
Tracking data from GeniusIQ shows his runs are being targeted by passes at a higher rate than either Hugo Ekitike's at Liverpool or Haaland's at Manchester City.
Percentage of runs targeted by passes
Runs / Targeted / %
1. Ollie Watkins 434 / 165 / 38%
2. Igor Thiago 402 / 151 / 38%
3. Viktor Gyokeres 350 / 129 / 37%
4. Hugo Ekitike 305 / 103 / 34%
Of course, those passes need to be right. His team-mates are still adapting to him. Arteta has spoken of the need to build up chemistry and connections on the pitch.
But Gyokeres must do his part too.
Too often, when he is found, he is unable to hold on to the ball. It is partly a technical issue but it is also one of space.
According to GeniusIQ, Gyokeres has averaged the least space when available to receive passes of any Premier League player this season, at 3.14m, a statistic which reflects his struggle to create separation from his markers through his movement.
Least space when available for passes / avg
1. Viktor Gyokeres 3.14m
2. Liam Delap 3.56m
3. William Osula 3.76m
4. Marc Guiu 3.79m
5. Beto 3.86m
Creating that space is of course more difficult when you come up against deep-lying, compact defences as often as Arsenal do. But that challenge is not unique to them.
Haaland and Ekitike face similar circumstances with Manchester City and Liverpool and yet average 4.92m and 5.32m of space respectively when available to receive passes.
........
Gyokeres is of course a different player, signed to provide the killer instinct Arsenal lacked. Haaland shows that touch volume is not important if the goals flow. But the feeling remains that Arsenal are a better side with a striker who gets involved in their approach play.
Their two best attacking performances of the season, against Tottenham and Bayern Munich last month, came with Mikel Merino starting up front, interchanging positions with team-mates and dropping into midfield, while also providing a threat in the box.
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Fantastic deep-dive analysis on the facts behind why #14 is struggling. TLDR: "He gets no service" is vastly overstated as shown by the various stats on display. Gyokeres is finding it hard to create any separation with his opponents or make something out of the passes aimed at him.
I got my prediction about Palace's starting 11 wildly off. They've gone with reserves tonight and so will play the first team against Leeds. Meaning the first 11 will either be knackered or rotated against us. Either way, I still want us to play a largely second string side, but it makes us progressing more likely.
Please let’s not sacrifice a big trophy for a the Caribou Cup , or indeed any domestic cup , not with these injuries these days. Know the narrative is that Arteta needs to win something or else, but make it winning something big, this team are capable of key players can stay injury free.
Well, the Guardian is releasing the Top 100 male players from 2025 and here's where our players ranked. This is from a 219 person voting panel including players (including Hamann, Lahm, Romario), coaches, journalists etc.
Merino: 90th
Zubimendi: 70th
Raya: 58th
Eze: 56th
Odegaard 45th
Saliba: 33rd
Gabriel Magalhaes: 29th
Gyokeres: 28th
Saka: 26th
Rice: 15th
Have to say Timber got robbed and Gyokeres should be lower down on the list although much of his ranking is based on last season's performances in Portugal. Not sure many of us are claiming Gyokeres is our third best player (except Pedro of course!). Calafiori would probably be a contender too if not for injuries last season.
If they had squeezed Timber on to the list, we would have a full starting XI of players in the Top 100. Not too bad.
Just to be clear, is that most of us would or wouldn't agree Gyok is our third best player?
Good catch-just edited it to make it clearer. I'm not sure Gyokeres ranks in our Top 13 players right now, let alone our Top 3. I'm still hopeful for him and don't want to join the bandwagon, but he definitely needs another confidence boost asap.
Let's look at how many goals those players have scored this time last year Kai: 4 Merino 1 Jesus 0, says it all for me, it's actually interesting that Big VIk is matching Kais output and he is not even at 100% yet
You should do a recount cause you're wrong.
Havertz had more goals than Gyok in the PL at this point. He also had more assists. In all competitions he had more than double the G/A of Gyok - 13 to 6.
And that's in an Arsenal in crisis due to having huge players injured, having to play with 10 men three times, then the same players being suspended, and of course, he had to play pretty much every minute of every game for 6 months straight.
Yeah, there's nothing Gyok is better than Havertz.
Yeah, by the interplay and value to the whole team is by faaaaaaaaaaaaaaar worse.
On this i agree with Arteta this is what he said in his interview with the mirror newspaper: Mikel Arteta defends Viktor Gyokeres with brutal message to Arsenal teammates
Mikel Arteta has suggested other Arsenal players need to provide better service for Viktor Gyokeres after his struggles against Wolves.
Mikel Arteta has defended Viktor Gyokeres' performance against Wolves and instead partly blamed his struggles on other Arsenal stars. Regarding Gyokeres needing to contribute more whilst also requiring service, Arteta said:
"It's a collaboration between the two. He was in a lot of really good positions and the ball didn't get into the area quick enough, sharp enough or just with the precision that is required for a No. 9 to score the goal.
"But his work rate and intentions were there and we need to keep insisting."
Well, this is not the way I wanted to start my day.
Kai might not come back the same player this year or ever.
Jesus ain't lasting 90's for more than 5 games before going to the medical tent.
Merino can't play all the minutes everywhere, in all positions, all the time at a high level.
Arteta better get his defensive players back before Jan 15th as I have said before, and persuade Berta to go and get another body in January or we may be watching the AFC train slide off the rails.
“Arsenal forward Kai Havertz is set to be sidelined until early to mid-January following the setback he suffered last month in his rehab from minor knee surgery.
In November he was one week away from returning to the squad before the setback. “
Fuck fuck fuckety fuck?
I think we see him end of Jan now
I have two big issues with Gyokeres. The first is that he has no super powers. I hear many people saying that Pep would have him scoring goals, as he has Haaland scoring goals. But Haaland has elite pace, is brilliant with headed chances, and regularly scores with one touch finishes. Gyokeres has none of those things, and as far as I can see, no truly exceptional attributes.
Secondly, if you look at all the goals he scored at Sporting, they broadly fall into three categories. Goals where he picks the ball up in the left channel, drives towards goal, then cuts in and shoots; goals where he receives the ball in the penalty area and takes three or four touches before getting a shot off; and penalties. He can’t score the first type of goal in the Premiership (other than against a championship level defence like Leeds) because he lacks the pace and power to bully premiership defenders. He can’t score the second type because he’s never going to get enough time for more than a couple of touches in the box in the premiership. And Saka takes penalties ahead of him.
I would love to be proven wrong and will always support him unequivocally when he’s on the pitch - but the above makes it very hard for me to see how he’ll be a success with us.
I would add he is all misses elite iq like haaland. Haaland movement is the best in the business he has something like the least amount of offsides for the most amount of runs. Guy is phenomenal in reading zee game
Really well put and I doubt even his fans could argue with the above. It's factual.
I said this elsewhere and was ratioed. Whatever. Vik biggest problem is he “sits” or pushes down before moving forward. That fraction of a second is everything at this level. Surprised this is the case as there are well established training methods to correct this.
Yes his touch and strength is not what was expected but the lack of quickness
https://x.com/IsmaillIlIlI/status/2000930387963597269
A video of all of the missed opportunities by Gyokeres. (I remember a big chance missed against Leeds at 0-0 https://x.com/PaSheikhnaS/status/1959298056072933652 so definitely not all of his misses )
I counted 29 clips in this video, so 30+ opportunities he's failed to get the maximum of. Some half chances, some big chances. I noticed he had the option, multiple times, to pass to a free player for an easy tap-in on empty goal but he didn't do it, yet the fans are enraged about that one time Saka took the ball and converted the penalty, or that one time Saka decided to finish the attack himself, or that one time Odegaard picked the best pass instead of trying a hopeful through ball to a player with coordination issues who goes down like a sack of potatoes about 5 times per game.
But that's what the fans celebrated - a greedy striker. He was lauded for his desire to score goals. Yet his overall game is a total zero. But that didn't matter one bit to the fans. "He scores goals" they said. "I'm tired of playing midfielders at CF, it's time for a real striker" they said as they watched a compilation of his goals against teams collectively valued at the valuation of one Fabio Vieira (€30m) or less.
Watch the video and tell me again how Gyokeres has been starved of chances. Watch the video and tell me again how Arteta is the one to blame for the shocking performances of a player way out of his depth. Watch the video and tell me again how it's too early to judge him. Watch the video and tell me again how pathetic I am for banging the drum of the huge mistake we made of signing a player who has no business competing for the PL and CL trophies.
The Berta special strikes again after Joao Felix, Jackson Martinez, Lemar, washed out Diego Costa for 2x the fee he sold him to Chavs. €300m in total for 4 massive flops.
Same as Gyokeres, he's received unconditional love. I hope he learns from his mistakes but most of all, I hope he's given less power after he turned the world around to secure the Swede.
Funnily enough, I was definitely on Team Sesko in the summer transfer debate but as disappointing as Gyok has been so far this season, I think I would still take him over Sesko, at least for the next couple of seasons. Where Victor has technical limitations, it looks like Sesko's problems are more between his ears.
Really easy to say we should have taken Ekitike in hindsight but very few were arguing for him in the summer. However, right now and based on our available budget for CF (ie. no Isak) it's looking like our best bets would have been Ekitike, Woldemade or even Calvert-Lewin (even a cheeky bid for Welbeck looks appealing now!). Then the rest, including Wissa, Sesko, Gyokeres, Delap and Pedro fall into the limited value for cost category.
You make it seem like Gyok is bright. He really isn't and has shocking positioning and anticipation in the box. His best trait is that he works hard. I appreciate it but it's not good enough.
I was team Sesko only because I preferred him to Gyok, not cause he was anywhere near my top choice.
Maresca to City would actually make Chav heads explode. They would finally have confirmation that they are 2nd teir club now after a few years of denying it 😂😂😂. It would remove pep as well and give us a better chance moving forward.
I thought we had the best manager in the world?? GENerational
If Pep truly leaves at the end of the season and we manage to lift the title, Arsenal could be on the verge of building a dynasty.
I don’t believe any other manager can match Arteta’s impact, and if we win the Premier League, top players and fans alike will recognize that they’re witnessing the rise of a historic team.
I am one of those guys that liked the Gyokeres signing in the summer but didn't believe he was the complete answer. But he is different to any of the CFs we have and came in at a cheaper price point than the young strikers that moved this summer. I said if he got 25 in all comps it would have been a major success.
I still believe we aren't playing to his strengths. You don't play balls in behind to a Giroud. He is never going to get there.
It is the other way for Gyokeres. All his best moments come from quick transitional inter plays. He struggles aerially, and with his back to goal holding off big CBs.
And the facts is we play so slowly that we let teams setup their OOP structures. We aren't a great counter attacking side. We are a squeezing side that want to take less risks.
If we are going to continue playing this way, I am glad Havertz and Jesus are back. They are tailor made for that. But we would benefit more if we can vary our style with Gyokeres imo. We would avoid being predictable at times. And he isn't going to be the answer alone because he is limited. Just like our other 2 CFs.
Where I agree - is that his biggest strengths align with attributes none of our other strikers have. His desire to run in behind consistently is a definite point of difference. I think he should be used when we’ve gone a goal or two up or against teams who play a mid block (Villa being one). But it also reminds me of when coq broke into the side. He was a distinctly average footballer, but we’d been crying out for a defensive midfielder who was prepared to sit in the middle of the pitch, and so his averageness was elevated because we were so desperate for a player with his profile.
Giroud is a good comparison. In retrospect he was an excellent player.
"Gyokeres isn't going to be the answer alone because he is limited. Just like our other 2 CFs."
I mean, come on... There are levels to it. You talk about limitations then you have Gyokeres, Kai and Jesus in the same category while the latter two have both touched the world class level at some points of their careers, while the former hasn't. Not nearly even close. His biggest achievement is matching Bas Dost's numbers at Sporting.
And neither Kai nor Jesus are exactly strikers. Jesus was more a false 9/winger. Kai something like a Muller space invader. The unknown is whether Martinelli would have more luck at CF than any of the others. Admittedly whether his shooting is up to it is another question
You have a seriously low bar for world class if you think Kai and Jesus touched them levels.
Kai has never been worldclass. But he is the most consistent out of all of them. When he is low he is crap. His lows are too low to ever be world class.
Jesus's first 6 months is as world class as it gets but he has never reached that level since and he has scoring issues as well as availability issues.
There are only 3 truly world class strikers in world football at the moment. Kane, Mbappe and Haaland. That is it. Alvarez and Isak at Newcastle the closest after that.
Except his lows occur when he is played the full 90 every game for a full month. He presses non-stop. Wins aerial duels....but then lacks the energy for explosive finishes when a ball drops at his feet in the box. Unbalanced, he gets a quick feckless shot away.
Kai looked world class in his Leverkusen days and in the 2nd half of the 23/24 season. For Jesus, you basically agreed.
Then there's Gyokeres. The goalscorer of the Portuguese league - next to Taremi, Nunez, Goncalves, Jonas, Bas Dost, Jackson Martinez, Hulk, Oscar Cardozo, Lisandro Lopez. Some of the biggest flops in world football.