Jamie Carragher thinks Mikel Arteta will drop new signing against Liverpool, Gary Neville couldn’t believe it
Jamie Carragher believes that Mikel Arteta will have the audacity to drop one of his stellar new signings to the bench against Liverpool.
The Gunners started off the season with a narrow victory over Man United as Arsenal won 1-0, courtesy of a Riccardo Calafiori header.
Ruben Amorim would have been happier with his side’s performance as both new signings Matheus Cunha from Wolves and Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford looked lively.
Arteta‘s chosen starting XI featured many of his new summer arrivals, yet not all of them impressed at Old Trafford with the north London outfit just edging the Red Devils.
Former Liverpool defender Carragher left ex-United right-back Neville in disbelief after he made a bold call on one of those who made his debut.
Jamie Carragher convinced Mikel Arteta will drop Viktor Gyokeres against Liverpool
Speaking on Sky Sports Monday Night Football (18 August) ahead of the Leeds United v Everton clash, the ex-Red delivered an absolute bombshell.
Carragher believes that Arteta will stick with Gyokeres against Leeds next week, but will drop him against Liverpool the week after, stemming from his poor performance against the Red Devils.
In response to his co-host’s surprising claim, Neville said: “He can’t leave Gyokeres out of big games.”
Carragher replied: “He can!”
Kai Havertz’s Arsenal importance still there despite summer spend
Football Insider verdict
The big Swede was only able to play 60 minutes against the Red Devils and put in a less than convincing performance.
Coming from the Portuguese top-flight to the Premier League, it is almost certain that the number 14 will need time to adapt to the pace and physicality of the top-tier of English football.
The former Sporting CP front man was replaced by Kai Havertz who played as a mobility forward to try and hold the ball up and win headers after Gyokeres was bullied by the United backline.
| Viktor Gyokeres v Man United (17 August) | |
| Minutes played | 60 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Shots | 0 |
| Possession lost | 11 |
Undoubtedly, the Sweden international knows what it is like to play in England from his time with Coventry and Brighton, however, the experience of the German could be pivotal to letting his striking competition settle in.
The former Chelsea attacker has been heavily criticised during his spell in the top-flight, but the 26-year-old did manage to net 15 goals last year.
Leeds presents itself as a golden opportunity for the 27-year-old to find his feet in a high-intensity division, but failure to score again could see the Spanish manager turn to Havertz to lead the line against the Reds.