One of the most renowned figures in Manchester United history, Wayne Rooney, has come up to defend Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres, noting the importance he provides to the Arsenal team but without excessive recognition.
On Saturday, Gyokeres was the only goalscorer in the 1-0 victory of Arsenal over Everton which guaranteed three points to the team of Mikel Arteta. Although critics have dwelt on his poor start to the season, Rooney thinks that the striker is playing a crucial role that is not demonstrated by the statistics.
Gyokeres does slightly more than you see, Rooney explained in the most recent episode of The Wayne Rooney Show. He plays your number 10 or wide players inside when he plays even on Saturday, which is Tarkowski and Michael Keane in the two centre-backs.
Rooney stressed that Gyokeres does not have to be scoring as much as he should, but he was needed in the attacking structure at Arsenal. I believe that he is significant to Arsenal. He is there doing a job which benefits other players, he has not had the goals which you would want him to achieve, he just hasn’t been able to get them, Rooney added.
The ex England captain was able to extol the consistency and professionalism of the striker saying that his work might not yet be noticeable but forms an essential part of the success of the team. Rooney also indicated that the influence of Gyokeres will be even more evident in case of Arsenal achieving the title of the premier league.
You know, may not see it, not eye-catching but he does fill out the centre-back. Can he be better? Of course he can. Should he score more goals? Yeah, he should. However, should Arsenal become champions of the league, then he would have played a significant part in it, certainly, Rooney said.
However, with the rest of the season approaching, the combination of tactical acumen and work rate in Gyokeres would be crucial in a title race that would otherwise be a cut throat contest. The fact that Rooney supported the argument further supports the fact that the contribution of the striker extends well beyond the goals.
