Wayne Rooney has reportedly claimed that Viktor Gyokeres is contributing more to Arsenal than most people realize as he defends the striker’s performances.
In Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Everton, Gyokeres scored the lone goal for Arsenal by powerfully converting a penalty, his first goal since the beginning of November.
Gyokeres, who is 27 years old and hasn’t consistently shown his finest form for the Gunners, now has five Premier League goals for the season.
A few months ago, there were indications that he was fitting in, but a hamstring injury stopped him in his tracks, and Gyokeres hasn’t done much since returning to the team.
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Rooney Lauds Gyokeres
According to the Evening Standard, Rooney commended the striker’s contributions to the Arsenal team despite the fact that goals have not consistently flowed.
“You maybe don’t see it, it’s not eye-catching, but he does occupy the centre-back,” Rooney said.
“So I think he’s doing a job for Arsenal. Can he be better? Of course he can. Should he score more goals playing in that team? Yeah, he should.
“But I think if Arsenal go to win the league, then he’ll have had a big role to play, definitely.”
Gyokeres’ £64 million summer transfer from Sporting Lisbon created a lot of anticipation.
During his two seasons in Portugal, he scored 97 goals in 102 games, and Arsenal hoped he would be the last piece in their title-chasing puzzle.
“He hasn’t scored the goals, which obviously he scored in the Portuguese league, but I think he does a bit more than what you see,” Rooney said.
“Like even last night, he occupies the two centre backs and he occupied [James] Tarkowski and Michael Keane.
“It creates a little bit more space for other players. So I think he is important for Arsenal. He’s doing a job for Arsenal which helps other players. He just hasn’t got the goals which you’d expect from him.”
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