Premier League icon Alan Shearer came to the defence of Arsenal’s misfiring forward Viktor Gyökeres, explaining how the summer recruit has “improved” Mikel Arteta’s side this season.
The Sweden international drew another blank against Fulham this weekend, stretching his goalless drought to nine matches for club and country. The Gunners still managed to once again emerge victorious, climbing three points clear of Manchester City at the Premier League summit with crisis-stricken Liverpool one point further back.
Gyökeres boasted a fearsome goal record before Arsenal splashed €73.5 million (£63.8 million, $85.7 million) on his signature over the summer, plundering 97 in 102 matches for Sporting CP. The 27-year-old has found the net just three times across his opening 11 outings for the Gunners, yet Shearer isn’t concerned.
“One of his strengths which has suited Arsenal is he actually goes the other way, he goes in behind,” the former Newcastle United forward outlined on BBC’s Match of the Day.
“I think when he does that, that then creates space for others to play. Last season you had maybe [Kai] Havertz or [Mikel] Merino coming short, and that’s easier for teams to defend against.”
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This was precisely the point Mikel Arteta had made in defence of Gyökeres ahead of Saturday’s fixture. Heading into the weekend’s fixtures, no Premier League player had made more off-ball runs into the opposition box than the burly striker.
“When you’re running the other way, they [the opposition] get deeper and deeper, that then opens the space up for others to play,” Shearer continued. “So I think from that point of view he has improved Arsenal.”
In a way it’s a surprise to see the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer defend a striker who is currently being outgunned by Burnley’s Jaidon Anthony. However, Shearer always lamented how players in his position were evaluated by a single number.
“Whether we like it not, centre forwards are in the business of scoring goals and we get judged on scoring goals, wrongly in my opinion because there’s a lot more to it,” Shearer sighed to The Guardian when he first became a pundit in 2006. Although that’s not to say that Gyökeres was impervious to any constructive criticism.
Shearer: Gyökeres ‘Far From’ Elite Strikers
Shearer’s analysis of Gyökeres came shortly after the 55-year-old had waxed lyrical about Manchester City’s master finisher Erling Haaland. The Nordic goal-gobbler is operating at an elite level which few on the planet can match. By Shearer’s expert verdict, only Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Bayern Munich talisman Harry Kane come close to City’s No. 9.
“He’s not in the league of [those] three,” Shearer shrugged, “far from that.”
However, the former England captain was confident that the goals will soon flow for Gyökeres, if not quite at the same frightening rate as his time in Sporting.
“I think he will get the goals, obviously nowhere near as many as he got last season, but he will get the goals with the number of chances that Arsenal create,” Shearer predicted. “He will, and his numbers should improve.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Viktor Gyokeres Receives Surprise Verdict From Premier League All-Time Top Scorer.