Jamie Carragher makes Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal claim that leaves Gary Neville stunned

Jamie Carragher believes Mikel Arteta will not use new signing Viktor Gyokeres in Arsenal's biggest fixtures this season. The former Liverpool defender's stance left fellow pundit Gary Neville firmly disagreeing as the pair made their predictions for the new campaign.

Gyokeres was handed his debut in Arsenal's opening fixture against Manchester United on Sunday and remained on the pitch for an hour before being substituted. The Sweden striker found it difficult to influence the Gunners' attacking play and failed to attempt a single shot during his time on the field, despite Arsenal securing victory at Old Trafford.

When examining the remarkable record Arteta's team have established against their main rivals - Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham - Carragher suggested that Gyokeres might be overlooked for such encounters, with Arsenal remaining undefeated in their previous 22 matches against those opponents. The Champions League winner believes Gyokeres will have no trouble finding the back of the net throughout the campaign but feels Kai Havertz is too crucial to be dropped, reports the Mirror.

"If I'm being honest, I think they go back to Havertz in the biggest games, I think that will be the case," said Carragher on Sky Sports. "I can see Gyokeres playing and scoring goals."

Neville responded: "He can't leave Gyokeres out of big games." However, Carragher swiftly reinforced his position.

"He can," he said. "I think Havertz is too important a player for Mikel Arteta to be left out. I don't see that happening at all."

Neville suggested that both stars could feature alongside one another. "Arsenal needed a centre forward and brought one in, I saw glimpses that made me think he'll be a handful," Neville said. "[Gabriel] Martinelli looks like he's struggling, maybe getting Gyokeres and Havertz in together is something he has to try."

Following Arsenal's victory over United, Arteta acknowledged there remained aspects to address in order to fully incorporate Gyokeres into his squad but expressed satisfaction with his debut. "Well, he did a lot of things very good," the Spaniard said. "You can tell, especially in our high-pressing rhythm that we demand that, especially in the first hour.

"Again, he took too much time. It's something that we have to work on him, especially there. "And then, yeah, finalising situation, he didn't have that many chances to do that because, as I said, on the previous action, before we had to play that last ball that the line was standing still with 40 metres behind, we then managed to put the ball through to exploit his quality. But overall, I mean, coming away to Manchester United, winning your first game with Arsenal, it's a good start."

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