Paul Scholes claims Mikel Arteta was forced into signing Arsenal star

Paul Scholes believes Mikel Arteta was pressured into signing Viktor Gyokeres because he was ‘last striker available’.

Gyokeres completed a £64m move to Arsenal last summer, signing a five-year contract with the Gunners.

The Sweden international had spent two sensational seasons at Sporting, scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances for the Portuguese side.

That prolific ratio is yet to be seen at the Emirates Stadium, however, with Gyokeres only scoring six goals in 19 games for Arsenal.

Gyokeres went nine games without a goal earlier in the campaign and has also failed to find the back of the net in his last five appearances.

Manchester United legend Scholes doubts Gyokeres will ever be an ‘unbelievable goalscorer’ for Arsenal but insists he does offer a lot as the ‘focal point’ of the team.

‘Do you know what I think about Gyokeres? I don’t think he’s ever going to be an unbelievable goalscorer but I think the rest of the team will like playing with him,’ Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

‘He’s a focal point and works his b****** off.’

Scholes’ former United and England teammate Nicky Butt added: ‘He’s gone into a team at Arsenal that’s never had a centre forward, they didn’t play with a proper striker last season.

‘It might not be Gyokeres fault this, it might be the other players not knowing where he is.

‘It’s tough for a player to go into a team that isn’t used to playing with a centre forward. But he’s a focal point to get them up the pitch.

‘It had to be perfect for Arsenal to get into the final third last season, it had to be intricate to get up the pitch and they did it well to be fair.

‘But with him he holds the ball up well and they get up the pitch.’

Given Scholes and Butt do not view Gyokeres as a striker who is going to be prolific in the Premier League, they were asked why Arteta decided to sign the forward.

Arteta was in desperate need of a striker for well over a year, with Kai Havertz often performing that role in his side and central midfielder Mikel Merino being forced to fill in during last season’s injury crisis.

The likes of Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko and Nick Woltemade were all on the move last summer but Arsenal focused on Gyokeres, beating Premier League rivals Manchester United to a deal.

Asked about Arteta’s motivations for signing Gyokeres, Butt said: ‘It’s the pressure. The pressure to buy a centre forward.

‘The pressure to buy a striker at a club who keep nearly winning the title is massive.’

Scholes, who played with legendary strikers Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Eric Cantona and Andy Cole, added: ‘I think Gyokeres was the last one available as well.’

Gyokeres’ frustrating start to life at Arsenal continued on Saturday as he failed to score against bottom-placed Wolves before being subbed off late on.

The 27-year-old will look to end his mini goal drought this weekend when Arsenal visit Everton.

Whether Gyokeres even retains his place in the team is another question, however, with Gabriel Jesus now back from injury and Havertz closing in on a long-awaited return.

Neither Jesus or Havertz have been prolific goalscorers for Arsenal but it has been suggested that Arteta will rely heavily on both given Gyokeres’ underwhelming form.

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