Former Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere has urged the club to be cautious about selling Viktor Gyokeres in the January transfer window, warning that the move could leave Mikel Arteta short of options at the top of the pitch.
Gyokeres delivered his best performance of the season in midweek, scoring and assisting in the Gunners' 2-1 Champions League win over Slavia Prague. However, it has otherwise been a frustrating campaign for the Swede, who has started just one Premier League match so far this season.
The 28-year-old arrived from Sporting CP for £64million and scored a respectable 21 goals in all competitions in his first season, but has since fallen behind Kai Havertz in the pecking order at the Emirates.
Pundits suggest selling the striker
With speculation expected to build ahead of the January window, some pundits, including Micah Richards, have suggested the Gunners should look to move Gyokeres on. But Aliadiere believes that could be a mistake.
Speaking to Metro, Aliadiere said: 'I think it's all depending on the finances how much they can get for him and who to replace him with. Because I think as much as obviously he's not in the top 11 now because Havertz is preferred number one, you don't want to sell him, get a good price and not be able to replace him.'
'If Havertz gets injured, which obviously we've seen in the past – he's had a few injuries and he can pick up injuries – you just end up with no striker at all.'
Concerns over replacement plans
Aliadiere drew parallels with the summer window, when the club sold players before bringing in replacements. 'So I think it's a very difficult January transfer window. Do you try to buy someone before you sell? I think when you look over the summer, selling Trossard and Martinelli before buying somebody.'
'Obviously, they go to Tzolis, but I'm not sure Tzolis was bought to be the first choice and when he is injured, you end up doing Eze on the left-hand side, and that's not really his best position in my opinion. So I don't want it to happen with Gyokeres, thinking let's try to sell him and recuperate a good transfer fee for him and then not replacing him.'
Style of play concerns
Even if Gyokeres remains at the club, Aliadiere does not see him becoming the long-term solution to Arsenal's search for a clinical striker. 'I just feel the way Arsenal plays does not quite suit Gyokeres' style of play,' Aliadiere, speaking via football betting, added.
'I've always been very quite patient and looking at the good stuff that he does, and I still feel that he does some amazing work. But I just do feel that the players don't really give him the ball quick enough, which is what he needs.'
'He needs to be on 1v1. He needs to run the channel, get fed the ball quite quickly. And I feel we're not really playing that way. We like to control the ball. We like to control the tempo and just slow down the game. And I just feel Gyokeres is more of a counter-attacking player where he sees the space, he wants it quickly and then he's on 1v1 and then he can then dominate physically.'
'But he's rarely getting in that position, so I just find it difficult to kind of see him turning things around in a way of probably just being a rotation player.'
