Owing to Kai Havertz’s injury, Viktor Gyokeres will now get an extended chance as Arsenal’s starting number nine.
If Havertz hadn’t picked up an untimely knee injury, Viktor Gyokeres might not have actually been on the pitch when he scored his second goal against Leeds United last weekend.
Eberechi Eze was impressed by Gyokeres watching on from the stands at the Emirates Stadium.
But if Havertz were fit, he could have easily replaced his Swedish teammate in the 60th minute or so – not because Gyokeres was poor, but Mikel Arteta would have needed to share minutes.
However, with Havertz now missing for a period, Gyokeres will get a chance to make the number nine spot his own.
Roy Keane thinks Viktor Gyokeres will score a lot of goals for Arsenal
That being said, Roy Keane has now given an indication how many goals he thinks Gyokeres might score for Arsenal this season whilst speaking on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast.
Ian Wright initially gave his thoughts on Gyokeres’ efforts against Manchester United and Leeds United – he recognised that his old side were adapting to a new kind of striker.
And in reply, Keane insisted that he thought the former Sporting CP man would score ‘a lot of goals’ across the months to come.
Wright initially said: “So I watched him against United make runs, I watched some of the runs he was making against Leeds, but obviously during training they’ve said ‘when he does that, do it.’
“Because even when he scored his goal, when he ran, Calafiori didn’t even look, he just put it in and that didn’t happen at United.
Viktor Gyokeres celebrates after scoring for Arsenal against Leeds United
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
READ MORE: Ian Wright says what position he thinks Eberechi Eze will play for Arsenal
“So I think, what happens is that once they get used to what he’s going to do, then hopefully people will start…”
Keane replied: “He’s not silky, is he? I think he’s one of those ones where we constantly talk about probably things he doesn’t do, but he’ll end up scoring you lots of goals.”
Gary Neville added: “I think so.”
Keane: “He’s that old fashioned striker, the way he runs, he’s a bit… it’s not pretty to look at.
“But come the end of the season, I bet you’re going, listen, he’s got us 20 goals, lad.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the last player to score 20 goals for Arsenal
In the Premier League era, only six players have scored 20 goals or more for Arsenal in a league season.
Presumably Keane was referencing 20 goals in the league, not just in all competitions, and if Gyokeres does hit that total, he’ll join a pretty exclusive club.
Player Season(s)
Ian Wright 1993/94, 1996/7
Thierry Henry 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06
Emmanuel Adebayor 2007/08
Robin van Persie 2011/12
Alexis Sanchez 2016/17
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 2018/19, 2019/20
Arsenal players to surpass the 20-goal mark in the Premier League era.
Interestingly, Gary Lineker thinks Hugo Ekitike will score more goals than Gyokeres this season, with the pair currently locked on two each.
But with Liverpool planning another Alexander Isak bid, that will surely hinder Ekitike in terms of minutes and his chances to score.
However, on Gyokeres’ part, he’ll predominantly be a 90 minutes man whilst Havertz is missing.
Both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard can play in central positions too, but Arteta will surely be keen to give his new striker all the chances he can.