Former England international Gabby Agbonlahor is convinced Viktor Gyokeres will not be at Arsenal next season after the striker struggled on his first start of the campaign in the 2-0 win over Everton. He believes the club would move him on if Julian Alvarez became available. According to Football.london.
Agbonlahor predicts Gyokeres exit as Arsenal’s Alvarez interest lingers
Viktor Gyokeres’s first start of the season came in a 2-0 win over Everton at the Emirates Stadium, with Ezri Konsa and Gabriel scoring for Mikel Arteta’s side. The Swedish international struggled, and Gabby Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT that he looked as though he was “running in slow motion”.
Agbonlahor accepted that Gyokeres can hold the ball up, but is adamant he will not be at the club next season. The pundit also claimed Arsenal would have moved him on this season if they could, offering the striker plus money for Julian Alvarez had the Atletico Madrid forward not turned the club down.
Arsenal are understood to be huge admirers of Alvarez, though they would face competition from Barcelona. The former Manchester City player has been reintegrated into Diego Simeone’s first team after a summer saga in which he made clear he wanted to join Barcelona. Atletico held firm against selling to La Liga rivals, and Arsenal did not make a move for him either.
The 28-year-old has scored 21 goals in all competitions since signing from Sporting last summer, yet his involvement has been limited. Kai Havertz was selected ahead of him early in the season, and Gyokeres had played only 80 minutes of Premier League football before the Everton game.
Arteta has nonetheless made clear he remains a big admirer of the striker. The manager said he loves both Havertz and Gyokeres, describing the latter as having a different character to Havertz and being someone you feel close to. “He’s a very important player for the team, and he will have his chance,” Arteta added.
