Viktor Gyokeres must improve his fitness to be a success at Arsenal, according to a former Gunners star.
Stefan Schwarz says the forward’s ‘heavy’ build could be holding him back from achieving the goalscoring form he did at Sporting Lisbon.
But his comments are unlikely to go down well with 6ft 2in Gyokeres, who previously hit back at critics calling him ‘fat’ at Sporting and proved them wrong in style.
Gyokeres has made a reasonable start to life in north London, scoring six goals in 14 appearances, and has been hailed for his ‘phenomenal’ work ethic by Mikel Arteta., who seemingly has no issues with his striker’s fitness. Gyokeres has started in every match this season besides their 2-0 win at Port Vale in the Carabao Cup, where he came off the bench.
Schwarz – who only lasted a season at Arsenal after moving from Sporting’s fellow Portuguese giants Benfica – insists Gyokeres can thrive but has a lot to learn.
‘He needs to get his fitness up. I think he’s in the right team with Mikel Arteta and the players around him. It’s a fantastic squad,’ Schwarz told Hajper.
Viktor Gyokeres has been told to improve his fitness by a former Arsenal star
Stefan Schwarz says the ‘heavy’ striker can go on to big things with Arsenal, who he played for in 1994-95
‘He’s in a strong team. Arsenal has been fighting for the big titles, so maybe he can help the team to take this big step. But, of course, everyone is a piece of the jigsaw puzzle.
‘So everyone is important, but of course, he has a big presence. He’s a strong, physical guy, and a good finisher with both feet.
‘The quality shown by the players on the bench and the options that Arsenal have means that Gyokeres won’t play all the games because I think they have a lot of good options to make tactical decisions from time to time based on the opponent or the result during the games.
‘Sometimes the dog who barks loudest is not always the strongest. I think it’s just the players in the Premier League. They are more powerful players, faster players.
‘Hopefully, he’ll start to create and score goals, have a good run, get that real boost, and get a bit lighter because he’s a heavy player. I think that would help.
‘He didn’t have a proper pre-season, and you need to play the games. You have those six weeks to interact with your colleagues, to understand the movement. When the midfielder makes the pass, you just have to look in their eyes, you know where they’ll pass it.
‘That’s a relationship that takes a bit of time, and football is about fine margins. Look at Dennis Bergkamp, he was the best at that. He will learn and score a lot of goals, and that will benefit Arsenal.’
Schwarz reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup with Arsenal in 1994-95 but then moved to Fiorentina after struggling to settle in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta seems satisfied with the man he spent £64million on over the summer to sign
Gyokeres, 27, is used to having to contend with criticism around his powerful frame after a similar experience in Portugal following his move to Sporting in 2023.
‘People always talk,’ he once said.
‘There is always some kind of talk. I think there was some who called me fat when I came to my first pre-season with Sporting after I signed. It’s always those kind of thoughts to just try to make a statement or good headline.’
The stats suggest that Gyokeres has explosive pace to burn. Last season, his fastest speed in the Champions League was 34.5 km/h – nothing to be sniffed at.
For comparison, Micky van de Ven, known for being rapid, has clocked 34.6km/h this season in Europe’s premier competition.
Gyokeres recently overcame a barren run of seven games without a goal at Arsenal and has netted in two of his last three appearances.
Arteta seems content with Gyokeres’ rounded contributions, and ultimately that’s all that matters.
‘I’m very pleased with what he’s given to the team,’ he said.
‘I told him before the first meeting: the nine that I want is a nine that when he doesn’t score for six or eight games, he can handle that. If not, you have to go somewhere else.’
