Richards wants Gyokeres sold in January. Henry says Arsenal’s bench players “aren’t passengers”

Arsenal won 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday, Kai Havertz scoring the only goal, at the end of a week in which their forward line had been the subject of constant debate. Two former Premier League stars have reached very different conclusions about what the squad needs.

Micah Richards thinks Viktor Gyokeres has had long enough. Thierry Henry thinks the attention is landing on the wrong players.

Richards: move him on in January

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards said Gyokeres has “had enough game time to show what he can do now at Arsenal and it’s just not happening for him”. He added that the striker “looks like he has no confidence” and that, unless he gets a night where he plays 90 minutes and scores, “they’re going to have to look to move him on”.

Richards also wants reinforcements. He argued Arsenal should “go back into the market” in January because of their injuries, and described the sale of Leandro Trossard in the summer as a “big miss”, given how much the forward line relies on work off the ball. In his view, Arsenal need more firepower in attack if they want to dominate rather than simply compete.

Gary Lineker, on the same podcast, was blunter about the role. He said he does not see Gyokeres as a starting nine “for a club of the stature of Arsenal” and sees him as more of a squad player who can come off the bench.

The timing matters. Gyokeres scored in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood Town, his first goal of the campaign, yet Kai Havertz remains Mikel Arteta’s preferred option through the middle.

Henry: this is why you have a strong squad

Henry’s reading of Arsenal’s situation is far more relaxed. Speaking ahead of the trip to Liverpool, he said “this is why you have a strong squad”, pointing to Eberechi Eze scoring against Bayern Munich and Noni Madueke scoring off the bench against Nottingham Forest. “That shows you that they aren’t passengers,” Henry said.

He also recalled that Arsenal have coped without Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz before: “Look at who scored the other day: Konsa and Gabriel. This team finds a way to win games.” Saka is sidelined with a quad injury, so Eze and Madueke were asked to carry more of the load at Anfield.

Two arguments that do not quite collide

It is worth noticing that Henry and Richards are not talking about the same player. Henry defends the wide men who have been criticised for a lack of goals and chances. Richards worries about the one position where Arsenal have invested heavily and have not seen the return. Both can be right at once: a deep squad does not solve the problem of a centre-forward who is short of confidence.

The disagreement is really about patience. Richards sees a player who has had a full opportunity and is running out of road. Henry sees an Arsenal side that has repeatedly found ways to win with different people scoring. Sunday’s 1-0 win at Anfield, Arsenal’s first league win there since 2012, backed the second view, although the goal came from Havertz rather than from the bench or the wings.

On 21 October, Jamie Carragher was still describing Arsenal as the team to stop in the title race, as we reported at the time. Whether the goals come from the bench, the wings or the man Richards wants sold may decide whether that holds.