English giant bows to Gyökeres and says: If Arsenal win... | OneFootball

, former England striker, did not hold back in his praise for Viktor Gyökeres and believes the Swedish forward could prove decisive in Arsenal’s bid to win the Premier League and the Champions League.

For Rooney, the striker’s influence goes far beyond the numbers. “I’ve been saying this all season and I’ve been criticised for it, but I really like him a lot”, explained the former Manchester United forward on The Overlap. “What he brings to the Arsenal team is the ability to occupy defenders. He forces them to work, to defend, makes runs in behind and creates space for his teammates,” he explained.

Rooney also highlighted the impact the Swede is having on the performances of his teammates in attack, such as Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze. “If one or both centre-backs have to step out to deal with him, that creates a lot of space in behind. Arsenal have made very good use of that in recent weeks”, he analysed.

Although he acknowledged that Gyökeres does not have goalscoring numbers comparable to Erling Haaland’s, Rooney believes the former Sporting player could be a key figure in Arsenal’s push for an unprecedented double. “If Arsenal win the league and the Champions League, he will be a big reason for that”, he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.