Michael Owen claims Arsenal will replace £64m signing: ‘He lacks class’ | Football

Michael Owen has raised doubt over Viktor Gyokeres’ long-term future at Arsenal and suggests Mikel Arteta could be in the market for another new striker next summer.

Gyokeres joined Arsenal in a £64 million deal from Sporting CP last July following an impressive run of 97 goals in 102 matches for the Portuguese side.

Since his move to the Gunners, the Sweden international has scored seven goals in 24 appearances, five of which were against Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Everton, plus two against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Gyokeres failed to register a shot on target in Arsenal’s goalless draw with Liverpool on Thursday night and has now scored just once in his last 10 appearances.

Owen, who scored 150 Premier League goals during his playing career, feels Gyokeres ‘lacks class’ and says Arsenal are ‘still searching’ for a prolific striker.

‘We were on the pitch four or five minutes before kick-off and we were discussing him [Gyokeres] and I said then, ‘the jury is out’, and I still feel the same way at the moment,’ Owen told Premier League Productions after Arsenal’s draw with Liverpool.

‘Fortunately for Arsenal, they’ve got lots of other players who can score goals.

‘They wanted him [Gyokeres] to put the finishing touches on this team and they’re probably still searching for that person.

‘If the Champions League final was tomorrow night, I’m not sure he would start.

‘They will continue and persist with him, of course, because they paid so much money, you want to give him all the chances.

‘And do you know what? Against Burnley, against Nottingham Forest, against Everton, whoever it might be, he probably is going to score a lot of goals, he can finish, he will be in the box.

‘But to win these games [against Liverpool], you need a bit of class, you just need a bit of class and that’s just where he lacks.

‘There’s a bit of a saying, a flat-track bully, I think he could be that type. Playing at home against lesser teams, he’ll score one, two, maybe even the odd hat-trick, he’ll take penalties, at the end of the season you’ll look at it and probably think, ‘do you know what, he’s got into double figures, not a bad return’, however, when you look closely at it, did he make a difference in the big games, the ones where you really need your big players? And sadly so far, only half the season gone, it’s a ‘no’, and as I say, the jury is definitely still out.

‘They [strikers] are not easy to find. You look in the Premier League at who people have signed over the last season, [Benjamin] Sesko, okay, scored a couple last night [against Burnley] but he’s not hit the ground running, Gyokeres, not really. The Premier League teams are bringing some of the best players on the market from around the world and not many are hitting the ground running.

‘There’s a dearth of centre forwards in world football at the moment. Players like Gyokeres scoring dozens and dozens of goals in a season in Portugal, bring him to the Premier League and it’s a different ball game. There’s not many out there.

‘I feel sorry for Mikel Arteta in a way in that he knows that was a problem and you search around the world, you’ve got a big pot of money to spend, what are the options… there are not many options around as you can quite clearly see. It’s not an easy position to fill at the moment.

‘As we all know, Arsenal have done so well that it’s probably being papered over the cracks at the minute, but the bottom line is the jury is out, I’m not sure he [Gyokeres] is the long-term answer.’

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