Arsenal knew they were getting a mindset as well as muscle, bustle and goals with Gyokeres
When should a new striker be judged?
Walking with colleagues out of the King Power after the 2022 Community Shield, there was really only one subject of pressing conversation. Who was the better value of the high-profile debut-making centre-forwards? Darwin Nunez, the £85m Uruguayan who’d shone and scored in Liverpool’s 3-1 win? Or Manchester City’s £51m Norwegian Erling Haaland who’d struggled? The widespread view was reflected in one prominent print verdict that “in the battle of the superstar strikers, there was a clear winner in Darwin Nunez with Erling Haaland such a disappointment”.
Fast forward to last night, three years and three months later, and Haaland has now scored 139 times in 157 games for City. Nunez managed 40 goals in 143 games before leaving this summer for Al-Hilal for £46m. There is a year between the pair – and almost a century of goals.
Those Community Shield hot takes, and I’d echoed the consensus, sprang to mind last night watching coverage of Haaland at Villarreal, a bull in a Ceramica shop. City’s No 9 plundered his 15th of the season in 11 matches in a 2-0 Champions League win, adding to his nine in three for Norway. He’s described as a machine, and there is certainly something industrial in terms of the sheer weight of goals amassed, but he’s also a very human striker.
You can see the effort Haaland puts in, the frustration he feels when a run doesn’t come off, the joy he feels when he scores, the delight his team-mates have in a popular colleague. He has strength, touch, athleticism, acceleration and, most importantly, work ethic. Haaland could grace any era. He fights, he floats, he finishes.