Mikel Arteta has been advised to place Viktor Gyokeres at the “bottom of the pile” following his “embarrassing” contribution to Arsenal’s Carabao Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea.
The Gunners secured their spot in the March Carabao Cup final with a 4-2 aggregate victory against Club World Cup winners and London rivals Chelsea.
Arsenal held a one-goal lead in the tie after beating Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge and limiting them at home.
A goalless stalemate seemed inevitable before Arsenal sealed the tie in injury time with a counterattack goal by ex-Chelsea star Kai Havertz.
Havertz began the match on the bench but was introduced for Gyokeres in the 20th minute following a quiet performance from the £64 million summer signing at Arsenal.
Gyokeres had scored four goals in six games before Wednesday’s match against Chelsea, but this game marked another step backward, according to Steve Nicol.
He told ESPN, “Mikel Arteta has given him six months to distance himself from Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Mikel Merino. I was trying to defend him at first because the way Arsenal play isn’t really good for a center forward, but I still thought he was skilled enough to score goals.
“I thought he was capable of scoring goals without much effort, but so far he hasn’t managed to do that. Also, he hasn’t been able to stand out from players like Jesus, Havertz, or Merino.
“So if you’re Mikel Arteta before every game, you’ve got a decision to make. Gyokeres should probably move to the back of the line right now because someone needs to contribute, and he’s not doing that at the moment.
“With Jesus and Havertz, they definitely contribute in ways that go beyond the ordinary. He hasn’t distanced himself from the other forwards; he might actually be at the bottom of the pile right now.”
