Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (Picture: Shutterstock)
Emmanuel Petit believes Viktor Gyokeres is ‘not welcome anymore’ at Arsenal after falling down the pecking order at the start of this season.
Gyokeres arrived at the Emirates last summer, joining Mikel Arteta’s side from Sporting CP after scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances for the Portuguese side.
The Swedish striker amassed a respectable 22 goals in all competitions over the course of his debut season in English football but failed to fully win over large swathes of the fanbase.
And Kai Havertz’s return to form and fitness has seen him firmly usurp Gyokeres as Arteta’s go-to centre forward so far this campaign.
The 28-year-old has yet to start a Premier League match this season, and former Gunners midfielder Petit believes that Arsenal’s intense pursuit of Julian Alvarez this summer is another clear sign that Gyokeres has not won over those inside the club.
‘He’s not the priority in the pecking order,’ Petit told Betfred. ‘I think he’s lost confidence and you can see that.
‘He’s not the only one actually; [Eberechi] Eze for example against Forest looked nervous. They’re all competing to earn their place in the first team and the competition is high when you consider the quality they have in the squad.
Viktor Gyokeres has struggled for minutes so far this season (Picture: Shutterstock)
‘Gyokeres knows that he’s not the first priority and it will be difficult for him to play in some very important matches.
‘We can see that he’s lost confidence and we don’t know what his future will be at Arsenal and the club looked at strikers in the transfer market and for me, that was a clear message to Gyokeres that he’s not welcome anymore.’
Elsewhere, former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse shared Petit’s sentiments and suggested that Gyokeres was ‘not technical enough’ for Arteta’s side.
‘He was in Portugal dominating the league,’ Cisse told Mr Gamble.
‘You arrive in a more physical league with far more intensity, and you have to adapt to that. It can take a year or two. He has to keep working.
‘Arsenal are a team that play football, and when you’re not at the level technically, it shows, because everyone is very, very technical, just like their coach.
‘But he’s also someone who has scored goals. You can’t forget that he’s a goalscorer. A goalscorer never loses it. It disappears sometimes but it comes back.’
