Wayne Rooney believes Eberechi Eze will help get the best out of Viktor Gyokeres this season once he establishes himself in the Arsenal XI.
Eze made his Arsenal debut on Sunday in the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool following his £67.5m switch from Crystal Palace in the summer window.
The Englishman only played the last 20 minutes and faces a battle with Gabriel Martinelli to become a regular starter on the left wing under Mikel Arteta.
Speaking on Match of the Day after Arsenal’s loss to Liverpool, Rooney said: ‘[Arsenal have] got players to go and hurt teams.
‘They’ve brought in Eze to be a part of that, they’ve got some good flair players, so I’d like to see more attacking in open play to score and create goals from different opportunities rather than set pieces.
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‘From the first few games, it’s very similar to what we’ve seen last season. They need to find a way to play with Gyokeres in the team.
‘Eze will come into that. They’ve got some new players but it’s the same Arsenal.
Metro at the Match: Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal
Metro at the Match returns to bring you all the analysis from the biggest games of the season.
Here’s were our team’s key takeways from Liverpool’s dramatic 1-0 win over Arsenal…
- Arsenal’s pursuit of Piero Hincapie looks especially timely after William Saliba was forced off after just five minutes. Cristhian Mosquera deputised well in the Frenchman’s absence, but Mikel Arteta must be pleased to have another reinforcement on the way – Ben Fleming, sports reporter
- One position Arsenal are still lacking in quality is the left wing. Gabriel Martinelli doesn’t quite know when to release the ball and was kept quiet by Dominic Szobozlai all game. If Martinelli can’t do it against someone who isn’t a proper right-back, who can he do it against? – Charlie Barclay, sports video journalist
- Sunday proved to be yet another quiet afternoon for Liverpool’s record signing, Florian Wirtz. The German is still yet to get to grips with Arne Slot’s system and has left the Reds’ midfield looking unbalanced as a consequence – Ben Fleming, sports reporter
- The potential signing of Marc Guehi appears to have finally jolted Ibrahima Konate into action. The French centre-back delivered his most assured performance of the season so far and dealt with the threat of Viktor Gyokeres with ease – Ben Fleming, sports reporter
- Arsenal found it difficult to create much yet again, constantly passing it backwards to David Raya, who was then forced to kick it long. Noni Madueke was the only outfield player who was bright on the day, but was dealt with impressively by Milos Kerkez – Charlie Barclay, sports video journalist
‘To be fair, They haven’t been too far away in the last two or three seasons so they’re doing something right but they need that added spice.
‘When you look at Liverpool, with Mohamed Salah and his individual brilliance, and the other players who’ve created and scored a lot of goals, I think Arsenal need that alongside what they’re doing already.’
Rooney praised Liverpool’s defenders – particularly Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate – for keeping Gyokeres quiet at Anfield this weekend.
‘Liverpool were fantastic in the individual battles,’ Rooney added. ‘They weren’t afraid to go in on Arsenal, especially on Gyokeres.
‘I thought the back four were excellent in how they did that, especially Konate and Van Dijk.’
Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal of the match with a stunning free-kick but Rooney has questioned the positioning of Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
‘Everything has to be perfect for him to score from that distance,’ Rooney continued.
‘Arsenal know that he’s probably going to shoot. He’s got the confidence and belief to take that shot on.
‘It’s so difficult – he’s got to get it over the wall – but the one question I have is Raya.
‘He moves his feet slightly too quick and I didn’t know the reason why.’
After the match, Raya suggested that the new Premier League ball was partly responsible for Szoboszlai’s free-kick that won Liverpool the game.
‘It (the new Puma ball) is different to the Nike ball so we have to adapt to it,’ Raya told Sky Sports. ‘The grip is different, the kick is different.’
