Troy Deeney believes an Arsenal star has every reason to feel ‘offended’ by Mikel Arteta in his honest opinion.
Arsenal were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties by Fleetwood Town, and former Premier League striker Troy Deeney thinks Viktor Gyokeres should feel “offended” by Mikel Arteta after being chosen to start the match.
Gyokeres scored 14 goals last season in the Premier League but has found it hard to get game time this season, starting just five matches across all competitions. Arteta has preferred Kai Havertz as his main striker, but Gyokeres was picked over him against Everton on Saturday. He helped set up Ezri Konsa for his first Arsenal goal and then scored himself on Tuesday night.
Gyokeres and Myles Lewis-Skelly were the only players to start both the Everton game and the Carabao Cup match at Fleetwood, as Arteta made nine changes for the cup tie. Gyokeres led the attack ahead of Havertz, with young players Caedach O’Neill and Max Dowman on the wings.
Despite a strong team, Arsenal got off to a rough start when Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave League Two side Fleetwood an early surprise lead. That lead lasted almost 30 minutes until Gyokeres scored just after half-time. Arsenal looked set to take control, but after Dowman was sent off late in the game for reacting to a tough challenge, the match went to a penalty shootout. Fleetwood scored all their penalties while Bruno Guimaraes missed the last one, knocking Arsenal out.
Before the game, Deeney said on CBS Sports that Gyokeres should have been annoyed for being fielded in this match. “Personally, I’d be offended if the manager told me I was playing this game,” he said. Deeney explained how Gyokeres had a tough summer, with Arsenal trying to sell him and him not playing until the transfer window closed. He went to Sweden, scored six goals in six matches, and gained confidence, but back at Arsenal “players don’t trust him,” Deeney added.
This loss was one of Arsenal’s most embarrassing in years and ended their hopes of winning the domestic treble. The night was made worse by Dowman’s red card. The silver lining was Gyokeres scoring his first goal of the season, giving Arteta hope that the striker is ready to break through.
After the win against Everton, Arteta said Gyokeres was a bit unlucky but had done many good things and praised his contributions in other matches. Gyokeres might even start in Arsenal’s Premier League game against Liverpool on Sunday (November 1) as they try to bounce back quickly.