Michael Owen has doubts about whether Viktor Gyokeres can be the difference-maker for Arsenal in the final months of the Premier League title race.
Gyokeres has had a mixed first season at the Emirates Stadium following his £64m move from Sporting last summer.
The Swede has been nowhere near as profilic as he was at Sporting, and has endured two fairly substantial goal droughts already this season.
But the 27-year-old has shown signs of improvement in Mikel Arteta’s side since the turn of the year, scoring six times in his last nine outings in all competitions.
Despite that, former Liverpool striker Owen is not fully convinced by what he has seen from Gyokeres and insisted Arteta may well turn to Gabriel Jesus or Kai Havertz instead in key games towards the end of the season.
‘He’s not for me, not really,’ Owen, the UK ambassador for the online casino comparison site Casino.org, told Metro when asked about Gyokeres.
‘Listen, I don’t mind him. I think he’ll definitely be a source of goals if you play him in every game. But then again, I could probably play in every game for Arsenal; they are the best team at the moment and create a lot of chances.
‘But is he the answer? I’m not so sure. He’s certainly an asset to the team. You would expect paying £60m for a striker, for him to be the stand-out striker, the go-to player. But I don’t know.’
Owen continued: ‘I think if the Champions League final was tomorrow, would Mikel Arteta play him? Or would he pick Jesus or Havertz? I think so. And that probably answers the question.
‘Yes, he’s an asset. But I’m wanting more, expecting more if I’m an Arsenal fan. Now, that’s not to say he’s been a flop at all. He’s obviously very capable. He’s good in front of goal.
‘But you’re talking Arsenal here. They’ve got good players anyway. Is he an uplift? Is he an upgrade on what they’ve got? He’s certainly different to what they’ve got. And certainly an asset to the squad.
‘But I’m probably wanting a bit more than an asset to the squad if I’m paying £60-something million.’
Former Gunners striker Ian Wright feels similarly about Gyokeres, but insisted the Swede could grow into the role if Arsenal get over the line and win the title this year.
Asked whether Gyokeres has been a ‘hit, miss or a maybe’ for Arsenal, Wright recently said on the Stick to Football podcast: ‘A maybe, a maybe.
‘Fingers crossed for him, it’s a maybe right now. If we’re judging him just on goals… you can probably say yeah [he’s met expectations], but you judge him on everything he’s bringing to the team.
‘He’s just somebody who I think, as long as we can finish it off [the title race], next year he will come stronger. So I’m a maybe.’
Arsenal will look to get back to winning ways and keep alive their unprecedented quadruple hopes alive on Sunday, when they host League One side Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fourth round.