Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz give Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta a striker puzzle to solve – The Radar | Football News

Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:

🔴 Jesus over Gyokeres for Arsenal?
💪 Miley’s versatility for Newcastle
🔍 A player to watch this weekend

How should Arteta use his strikers?

Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres were seen to have given Mikel Arteta a selection dilemma against Manchester United in Arsenal’s win over Inter Milan. But what if their goalscoring displays actually proved their suitability to their roles on the night?

Arsenal looked a far more fluid attacking force with Jesus starting up front. The flurry of passes that led to their opening goal was untypical of Mikel Arteta’s side this season and included a deft lay-off from Jesus to Mikel Merino before his instinctive finish.

Jesus continued to knit things together, pulling to the flanks to combine with Arsenal’s wide players, creating space for Eberechi Eze, feeding team-mates with his back to goal and, at one point, even driving forward with the ball and playing Bukayo Saka through.

His performance, on only his third start this season, was reminiscent of the electrifying displays that followed his arrival from Manchester City in 2022, before the first in a succession of injuries struck.

There was a set-piece goal too, of course, as he nodded his second over the line from a corner. But it was in open play that his impact was most apparent. Arsenal looked a different proposition thanks to their striker’s imagination and technical security.

They are qualities Gyokeres lacks. But by coming into the game as a substitute, when Inter were chasing an equaliser, he was able to show what he can do, attacking space on the break to latch onto Gabriel Martinelli’s ball in behind before finishing superbly.

It was a goal Jesus probably wouldn’t have scored. Just as the opening goal by Jesus, with the intricate interplay that preceded it, was one Gyokeres probably wouldn’t have scored.

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The first half of the season has exposed the limitations in Gyokeres’s game. But it is also true that the conditions he found for his goal on Tuesday have rarely been available to him in the Premier League, where space is at a premium and compactness reigns.

The moments when opponents become stretched tend to occur late in games, when they are tiring and, often, chasing goals. By that point, Gyokeres, who has started all but three of his 20 Premier League appearances so far, has usually been substituted.

Arteta’s hand has been forced, at least to some extent. Injuries to Jesus and Kai Havertz left Gyokeres as his only available striker for much of the season. But the option to change his role is there for the Arsenal manager now and the need for it is clear.

Arsenal have won 13 out of 17 league games with Gyokeres starting but that is largely thanks to a reliance on set-pieces. They have only scored 13 open-play goals in those 17 games compared to 10 in the other five. There is a gap in open-play expected goals too.

It is no coincidence that many of Arsenal’s best and most fluent attacking performances this season, against Bayern Munich, Tottenham and now Inter Milan, have come when Arteta has started with either Mikel Merino or Jesus in the No 9 role over Gyokeres.

Like Havertz, they bring more in the role. More touches, more passes, more duel-winning ability and, perhaps most damningly, more goals. Erling Haaland proves low-touch volume is not necessarily an issue for a striker. But only if that striker is scoring.

Gyokeres, without a non-penalty Premier League goal since November 1, is simply not doing that. In his 17 starts up front in the competition, he has a worse shot conversion rate than any of the players with whom he is competing for the No 9 spot at Arsenal.

All of which is not to say Gyokeres cannot be useful to Arteta. It might just require a recalibration of his role.

At £64m, it is safe to assume he was not signed to be a substitute. But it is surely better to use him in the manner in which he can be most effective, as a relentless runner against tiring defences, than wait for him to become something he is not.

Of course, the situation might look different had Havertz been available to share the minutes up front, instead of joining Jesus on the sidelines with a knee injury in August. A lighter workload, and more outings off the bench, might have suited Gyokeres better.

It also would have made life easier for Arteta.

Havertz’s finishing has been a source of frustration to Arsenal supporters during his time at the club. But while the signing of Gyokeres was intended to add greater cutting edge, Havertz surely remains their first choice in the position when available.

It is worth noting that at the time of the groin injury that curtailed his season last term, Havertz had scored 15 goals, putting him on track for the highest-scoring campaign of his club career.

Across 31 Premier League starts as a forward for Arsenal overall, he has 24 goal involvements, with 15 goals and nine assists. And that is on top of everything else he brings to the role.

They are hugely impressive numbers which underline the potential significance of a return to fitness which, frustratingly for Arsenal, is taking longer than expected. Havertz was an unused substitute against Nottingham Forest and Inter despite previously making cameos in the wins over Portsmouth and Chelsea.

Jesus, of course, is still only recently returned from injury too.

But if it is a choice between him or Gyokeres against Manchester United, events at the San Siro might have shown the way forward.

Miley to the fore for Newcastle?

The potential absence of Bruno Guimaraes against Aston Villa on Sunday following his injury against PSV Eindhoven is a worry for Newcastle. But in Lewis Miley they do at least have a player ready to step in and deliver whatever is asked of him.

The 19-year-old ensured their captain was not missed in the second half of Wednesday’s game. Having displayed maturity and composure in midfield, he ended up at right-back, taking the captain’s armband off Kieran Trippier as he went off.

It was a special moment for the academy product, who has been switching between positions all season. Having impressed as a makeshift right-back, he might now be needed back in midfield, where he has already slotted into a variety of different roles.

Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on

Will Bryan Mbeumo be used as a No 9 again when Manchester United go to the Emirates Stadium on the back of their win in the Manchester derby? He can cause problems for the team against whom he made his United debut back in August.

Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?

Don’t miss Liverpool’s meeting with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm on Saturday, ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off.

Sunday brings another multiview extravaganza, with Brentford vs Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace vs Chelsea and Newcastle vs Aston Villa all live across Sky Sports from 1pm, kicking off at 2pm, before Arsenal vs Man Utd at 4.30pm.

Join David Jones and Jamie Carragher for Everton vs Leeds on Monday Night Football from 6.30pm Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event, with kick-off at 8pm.

Read the last Radar column

The last column made the case for Manchester United’s new head coach Michael Carrick to go on the attack against Manchester City, something he did to great effect. There was also a look at Bruno Fernandes’s return to No 10 and Antoine Semenyo’s impact.