Might have to wait his turn

Former Arsenal star Perry Groves has urged Mikel Arteta to keep Viktor Gyokeres on the bench. He believes that Kai Havertz should remain as the club’s starting striker in the remaining matches.

Speaking to Metro, Groves claimed that Gyokeres’ goals should not make him an automatic starter, as Havertz links up better with his teammates on the pitch. He added the Manchester City game was a perfect example of the difference between the two forwards and said:

“I’m a fan of Gyokeres. I’ve stuck up for Gyokeres all season because I like his attitude and the way that he plays. He’s still got his 18 goals. He’s getting used to us, we’re getting used to him, but I think what I liked about the game against Man City, not only did we press, which was aggressive, but we went long quicker.”

“David Raya went long, quick into Havertz on the touchline, on the diagonal, where Havertz could hold it up, or he flicks it on. And he probably just gives you that little bit more of control, where he’s better at holding it up, so Gyokeres might have to wait his turn.”

Havertz scored in the game against Manchester City after pressing Gigi Donnarumma and forcing an error from the goalkeeper.

Arsenal warned about Newcastle United clash

Perry Groves has warned Arsenal that they need to be careful about the Newcastle United clash. He believes that the Magpies will sit back and try to lure the Gunners forward and attack them on the counter. He told the Metro:

“Newcastle will come and try and sit deep. They’re in really bad form at the minute, I think they’ve lost eight out of 11 in the Premier League, but historically, there’s always a needle in Arsenal against Newcastle. So they will come, they will up their game a little bit.”

“Guimaraes will probably come back in, so he’s a big plus for them, but this is all about Arsenal themselves. They can only control themselves and the way they approach the game and their attitude. They can’t control what Newcastle do, you know, whether they press, whether they sit deep.”

The Gunners have slipped to second in the Premier League table after their loss to Manchester City last week. The Cityzens jumped ahead on Wednesday, April 22, after they beat Burnley 1-0 in their game in hand.

The two sides are level on points and goal difference, but the Manchester side are ahead on goals scored.

Edited by Sripad