With eight quality signings through the door, the Gunners have arguably handed Mikel Arteta his strongest team yet.
All eyes will be on how these new arrivals elevate the team, and speaking of elevation, there is already debate over whether Viktor Gyökeres will truly lift this Arsenal side.
Troy Deeney has warned Gooners they may be in for disappointment, claiming the Swede goes missing in big games where he should be doing the damage.
While fans digest those comments, they have now been told why Hugo Ekitike might have been the better option.
Gyökeres vs Ekitike
On ESPN FC, pundit Stuart Robson weighed in on the Gyökeres vs Ekitike debate, questioning whether Arsenal signed the wrong number nine. He asked:
“Ekitike, aka baby Thierry Henry, seems like the perfect profile for Arsenal. Did they buy the wrong number nine?”
Even so, Robson admitted it is too early to judge the two:
“Only time will tell. I mean, Ekitike’s got different qualities to Gyökeres.
“Gyökeres, I think, is probably a better goal scorer. He is probably a better box player.
“Ekitike’s got that little bit of pace. He can run with the ball. He can, and as Jan said a bit earlier, I think he can play in one or two different positions, whereas Gyökeres is an out and out centre forward.”
Gyökeres: a proven goal scoring monster
When Arsenal went shopping for a striker this summer, they needed someone with a proven eye for goal.
With 97 goals across the last two seasons, few can argue that Gyökeres was not that man.
Yes, the 27 year old has not had the brightest start to the campaign, but doubting him would be premature.
One major issue has been his isolation up top. He has not received the service he needs, and that is down to Arteta’s conservative approach, as pointed out by Arsenal legend Emmanual Petit.
As was evident against Leeds, give him even a sniff of a chance and he will show you what a natural poacher he is.
Ekitike may have started brightly, but with three goals, just one more than Gyökeres, is it not too early to suggest he will outscore Arsenal’s new number 14?
Thoughts appreciated in the comments Gooners.
Daniel O
__________________________________________________________________________________________
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Rubbish!
The pundits that are coming out and questioning Gyokeres make me laugh. Time will tell if he’s the right striker for us.
I think three games is no time to come to conclusions. If the manager allows the team to actually play some attacking football and create chances for Gyokeres, we’ll know more then. If and when that happens only Arteta knows the answer to that.
Agree Derek. There are a lot of new pieces that still need to fit together in the best way and it doesn’t happen overnight. 🤞
That penalty he took was an absolute belter. He certainly seems to know where the goal is. Give him a bit longer surely?
👍SueP. I have to admit though that, unless I was seeing things, I hope his hold up play is much better than he had on the few occasions he’s had a chance.
2 goals in 3 games is not bad at all and Ekitike has only scored 2 goals and not 3 as you wrote
If Ekitike does turn out to be a quality player, then I see only this season Liv having that depth at CF because I’m sure when he signed, he believed he would be the CF
As for Gyokeres, I’m willing to give him time. Once he chips in here and there before he gets up to speed