28/07/2025

Read

iPaper at Malaysian Paper

www.thesun.my Free access to iPaper PDF Download

app from the App Store or Google Play TM . Malaysian Paper or download

SCAN ME

SCAN ME

MONDAY | JULY 28, 2025

Malaysian Paper

Game changer Inside Arsenal’s move for Gyokeres and why he will reload Gunners title race

Ű MIGUEL DELANEY

he has had an almost mocked fixation on midfielders is because – a classic disciple of the Basque/Spanish school – he wants infinite possible configurations in the brain centre of the team. It’s why he was so insistent on a player as tactically astute as Martin Zubimendi. The same, belatedly, applies to the attack. There are big plans for Max Dowman, who can play as a No. 10 or out wide, and is already performing like a first-teamer in training. Senior players are marvelling at his football brain and how quickly he executes what he is told. If Arteta can then add Eberechi Eze or another winger to Madueke and Gyokeres, he doesn’t just have more bodies and crucial back up for Saka, he has multiple angles of attack. Arsenal could come at you from anywhere. That would be quite a shift. There are still some red flags. No English club, not even promoted sides, took the gamble when Gyokeres was leaving Coventry City in 2023. This summer, Arsenal didn’t have that much competition. Some of the latter is because clubs had some technical reservations and feel he takes too long to get a shot off. Some is because most of his goals have come in the Portuguese league which don’t generally have much translation to the Premier League, as has been witnessed with Darwin Nunez. That isn’t to say it should be the rule. Bruno Fernandes has proven that. The general view among the game’s more respected recruitment staff is also that, at a total of £64 million (RM371m) in a market where strikers are at a premium, it’s worth the signing. – The Independent

W HEN Arsenal finally accelerated plans to get a striker this year, they had one fixed line. That was not to go above £65 million (RM377m). Such a figure might make it sound like they weren’t that serious about a striker – and there have been some questions about the exact level of the talented Viktor Gyokeres – but then this wasn’t quite about getting the striker anymore. It was about options, and having enough to finally win the title. This is the defining trait of Arsenal’s year so far, which is that Mikel Arteta is determined to address the key flaws of last season. Having claimed 89 points in 2023-24, Arsenal fell away because they didn’t have enough depth, with overuse ultimately leading to fitness issues, and not enough forward options. Their benches at the end of the season were often strikingly thin, resulting in the attack becoming overly dependent on Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. That in turn made Arsenal easier to predict, which only accentuated their problems. So, Arteta has already brought in more bodies, which is why Cristhian Mosquera and Noni Madueke have signed. They alleviate pressure in terms of wear. Next is the pressure he wants to exert on opposition. It isn’t exactly a new point to say Arsenal haven’t been the overwhelming all-angle attacking force they were over 2022-23 and in the 2023-24 run-in, which opposition coaches genuinely used to marvel at. The aberration is really because A r t e t a generally u s e d t he

anyone else in the squad. He gets it. That is why Arteta has balked at buying other forwards in the past. It’s not just about goals. It’s about how integrated the pressing triggers are. If one goes wrong, it all breaks down.

same core players throughout those periods, which was never going to be sustainable. That’s also why there may be some other value in signing a £65 milliom-level forward, if they can’t get an absolute £150 million

Arteta feels it’s pointless if that system is disrupted, which is really the source of so many goals. Arsenal did get 91 in 38 League games across 2023-24 with Havertz fit. This signing is designed to complement Havertz. Arteta won’t have to overly lean on him. There’ll be another option, offering more tactical solutions for different challenges. That is one of the

(RM870m) guarantee like Alexander Isak, with the Newcastle star now pushing for a move after the Gunners settled on Gyokeres. The manager obviously doesn’t want to discard Kai Havertz. Arteta loves him. If that surprises some of the German’s

detractors, it is because Havertz’s understanding of the manager’s pressing system is up there w i t h

driving ideas behind Arteta’s entire approach after all: tactical variety, to the point that Arsenal are very difficult to prepare for. One of the reasons

Viktor Gyokeres

Marko breaks silence

AC too hot for Reds

- Story on page 28

- Story on page 29

- Story on page 30

Pogacar leads peloton into Paris

theSun is published and printed by Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd (221220-K) of Lot 6, Jalan 51/217, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 03-7784 6688 • Tel (Editorial): 03-7784 6688 Fax: 03-7785 2625 Email: newsdesk@thesundaily.com • Tel (Advertising): 03-7784 8888 Email: advertise@thesundaily.com