Adams Slams Gyokeres Signing, Urges Watkins Move for Arsenal

Arsenal legend Tony Adams has expressed concerns over the signing of Viktor Gyokeres , claiming the Gunners should have signed Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins instead. Arsenal forked out around £64million to sign Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon this summer.

However, Adams is not convinced that the 27-year-old will be a success at the Emirates and believes Watkins would have been a better fit. Gyokeres scored 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting, but Watkins is a proven Premier League performer and has hit double figures in the league every year since joining Villa back in 2020.

As a result, ex-Arsenal captain Adams believes his former club would have had a better chance of winning the league if they had signed Watkins instead of Gyokeres.

Asked about the new striker, he said: "[Gyokeres]… I don't know yet. He's not tried and tested. I would have liked to have seen them get Ollie Watkins to be honest with you. He's a Gooner, he might have given us a year and we might have won the title."

Adams, who won league title in three decades with Arsenal, was similarly unconvinced about the club's manager Mikel Arteta - and captain Martain Odegaard. Pressed on Artetat during a Q & A for Indo Sport he responded : "Ahhhh… [audience laughs]… What?! Was there too much of a long pause there?

"I think he's got a really big call to make this year and, for me, he hasn't done it and the call is to make Declan Rice captain. Declan is my kind of captain and it might free up [Martin] Odegaard up to play with a bit more freedom because he had a very average season last year."

"But I think sometimes when you've got the main man and the captain of the club… Terry Venables did it, he took it off David Platt and he put me as captain and Glenn Hoddle took me out and put Alan Shearer, which was a silly decision!

"But every now and again, as a manager, you have to put someone that reflects you, reflects the football club, someone who thinks can actually take you to the next level." Adams believes Rice is a "proper captain" and suggested Arsenal will not win the league unless he replaces Odegaard as skipper.

"I think Rice is an Arsenal leader, I think he is," Adams continued. "He's good in the dressing room, around the training camp. He's got standards, he's got principles and I can see the man and he's a proper player, a proper captain.

"I would have done it, but Arteta hasn't done it so I'm being critical of Arteta at the moment. Big managers go, 'Right actually, you're my man now!' It’s been five years now [since Arsenal won a major trophy.

"He got great success at the start with a very defensive team. We didn't have the forwards so we defended in numbers. They didn't defend well but they defended as a unit. He got everyone behind the ball basically and we nicked the FA Cup .

"Going on and winning leagues and to win league titles, you have to be a [Jurgen] Klopp, you have to be a [Sir Alex] Ferguson, you have to lead by example and you have to be a winner, you have to go about your business and that reflects in your captain.

"Making Odegaard your captain is a reflection of Arteta and I can really see that. I'm saying to Arteta, 'Come on, step up now! It's your time to be a winning manager and a fantastic manager!', because you're not going to win the league with Odegaard as captain."

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