Kieran Gibbs has launched s staunch defence of under-fire Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres but insists he’s unlikely to be Mikel Arteta’s first selection for the rest of the season.
The Sweden international joined the Gunners from Sporting Lisbon in the summertime but has struggled to adapt to the demands of Premier League football.
Indeed, the 27-year-old hasn’t scored from open play in the highest flight since September and commenced Sunday’s game against Manchester United on the bench.
Two goals in cup games against Chelsea and Inter suggested the previous Coventry City star had turned a corner but he did not make an impact when summoned from the bench against United.
Gibbs, who played alongside Mikel Arteta in two FA Cup winning Arsenal teams, is adamant it is just too soon to jot down Gyokeres off and believes his teammates still need more time to regulate to fiddling with a more traditional point of interest in attack.
‘I believe they’re conditioned, for those who return during the last 10 years, all Arsenal fans have really been crying out for is a centre forward,’ Gibbs told ESPN FC.
‘I believe Gyokeres has only just are available in to suit that profile of the kind of striker that Arsenal have desperately wanted for therefore a few years.
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‘Nearly all of the team are conditioned to playing without an out and out centre forward so I believe there’s just an adjustment period there with Gyokeres.
‘I really like him by the way in which it’s just taken him a bit more time and possibly not even him time, it’s also taking time for the players around him to get used to fiddling with him.
‘He’s got to make the hardest decisions of his profession, that is the largest couple of months coming up. Ideally he would want Kai Havertz back and he’d actually go together with him if he’s fit.’
Pressed as as to whether Arteta was losing faith in his headline summer recruit, Gibbs added: ‘I don’t think you possibly can call him a bust after six months you’ve got to offer him more time.
‘He’s an out and out goalscorer, a born goalscorer, you possibly can see that. There’s other parts to the team that result in a striker firing on all cylinders.
‘Should you take him into consideration across the board there’s been a little bit of a drought. Martinelli, Saka, Madueke, I believe we’re used to seeing across the front three high numbers so I don’t think it’s solely on him.
‘For me it’s purely mental and listen I wasn’t a part of a team that won the Premier League so I don’t know what it takes to get past that final hurdle. From the skin it looks like they’ve lost that enjoyment they usually are only eager to get the job done.’
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