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Arsenal told Viktor Gyokeres will be dropped by Kai Havertz

By on September 11, 2025

Arsenal Kai Havertz Mikel Arteta

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Viktor Gyokeres will lose his place in the Arsenal starting XI once Kai Havertz recovers from his knee problem.

Since becoming the Gunners’ boss back in 2019, Arteta has managed to help his side become a title contender. However, they have been struggling to take the next step and win the Premier League title, finishing second in the last three consecutive campaigns.

Although Arsenal had Gabriel Jesus and Havertz, valued at around £56m by Transfermarkt, as striker options, it was widely suggested that they needed a prolific goalscorer to finally become the English champions.

So, the Gunners have decided to reinforce the centre-forward position by purchasing Gyokeres from Sporting for a big fee. The Swedish international was Europe’s highest scorer in the last two seasons, so it wasn’t a surprise to see the North London club eventually opt to go for an experienced striker like him.

However, he has had a mixed start to his life in the Premier League, scoring a brace against Leeds United, but he failed to make an impact in the other two games against Manchester United and Liverpool.

Now, on the Overlap, Carragher claims that it isn’t fair to judge a player after only three games, but Gyokeres isn’t a forward that pleases the eye. The former defender further says that Gyokeres will be dropped by Arteta in big matches to play Havertz when he returns to full fitness.

Pundit slams Gyokeres

Carragher said:

“We said before about not judging players after three games but there was a lot of talk before he came in of his goal record [being] amazing. But there was then a school of thought of other people saying ‘I’m not quite sure this guy’s good enough for the actual elite’.

“Now, we’ve only seen him for three games. He’s already got two goals, but he’s not the easiest on the eye, is he? I’m still convinced that when Havertz is fit, Havertz will play the biggest games.”

Gyokeres joined the North London club without any pre-season training under his belt as he was striking at Sporting to force a move. As a result, he has been short of fitness during the first few weeks of this season. However, as the season progresses, he is likely to regain his fitness and should return to his best.

Moreover, Arsenal have been used to playing without a natural striker like him, and they have to adapt to bring the best out of their star forward.