Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has questioned Arsenal’s £55million signing of Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting Lisbon this summer.
Mikel Arteta had long sought a No9, with Gabriel Jesus struggling to find the net since his move from Manchester City and Kai Havertz never promising to be an out-and-out striker.
After failing to secure a signing in January, falling short in pursuits of Ollie Watkins and Benjamin Šeško, the Gunners got their striker as Gyökeres joined the club ahead of the new Premier League season.
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Scholes, however, is not convinced by the signing yet.
Viktor Gyökeres joined the Gunners from Sporting Lisbon in an initial £55million deal
| GettyDespite the Swede scoring an astonishing 97 goals in 102 games in Portugal, the 50-year-old cited Gyökeres' lack of Premier League experience as a concern.
Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Scholes said: “[Arsenal needed a] Centre forward, I just wonder if you've chosen the right one.
“Because there was a lot of um-ing and ah-ing about it, I wondered if Mikel Arteta really wanted him, as the main one he wants? I'm not too sure, and he's got him now.
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Paul Scholes questioned whether the striker was the one that Mikel Arteta wanted
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“He's had a really strange career path - Brighton, Coventry, and then he's gone to Sporting Lisbon, and his goal record is absolutely brilliant, you can't take that away from him.
“If there's any team that he could go to and create chances, then it should be Arsenal, and it should be a really good match.
“Arsenal, they have the ball an awful lot. Is he going to be clever enough to make these runs in behind? A lot of him that you see, he's sprinting from the halfway line almost, you can't keep up with him, he's ramming people, he's quick and he's smashing the ball in.
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“Is he going to be that clever striker? We know Isak can do that. Can Gyokeres do that?”
Arsenal had been said to be interested in Leipzig striker Šeško in January but decided against moving for the 22-year-old, instead favouring a deal with Gyökeres.
The former Coventry striker is five years Šeško’s senior, posing the probability of a more finished article as opposed to Šeško’s unpredictability but undoubtedly high ceiling.
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Benjamin Šeško is now on the verge of joining Manchester United in a €80million deal
| GettyFormer Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes this switch of focus was down to Arsenal’s sporting director change.
Andrea Berta joined the club in the role in March following Arsenal’s disappointing January window.
Carragher said: “What I thought was really interesting was James [McNicholas] from The Athletic did a piece when the signing was done and he insinuated in the column that he wrote that he was more of a sporting director signing.
“The club were in for [Benjamin] Sesko for probably six months, and the new sporting director [changed direction] – I thought it was an interesting piece, as well as how that will affect Arteta going forward.”
Šeško is now on the brink of securing an €80million move to the Premier League, but he will instead be joining Manchester United after they won the tug of war for his signature from Newcastle.
With both players expected to play in the league next year, Scholes and Carragher could get an answer as to whether Arteta and Berta made the right decision with Gyökeres.