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A year ago, Arsenal’s need for a new striker was exacerbated by injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.

A year on, the two forwards are now back in contention to start games for the Gunners but arguably, they still need a striker.

Jesus did score his first goal back from a horrific ACL injury on Tuesday night, netting the fourth in their win over Aston Villa, but Viktor Gyokeres continues to struggle.

He may have netted from the spot in the 1-0 win over Everton prior to Christmas but he is now without a non-penalty goal since 1st November when he found the net from a header against Burnley.

It’s safe to say his performances are becoming all the more concerning.

How Gyokeres fared against Aston Villa

On paper, this was a game that suited Gyokeres. For most of his Arsenal career, the Swede has had to play against deep blocks.

That hardly suits his swashbuckling and quick style of play. He doesn’t get any room whatsoever. Yet, Villa, who play with a higher line and come at their opponents, looked like a good match.

Gyokeres did manage to have three shots, notably placing a header wide in the first half, but he continues to float through games pretty anonymously.

He managed just 16 touches of the ball against the Villans, producing only three accurate passes and winning one of his seven duels. While it was an improved performance on what we’ve seen in recent weeks, certainly as far as generating shots is concerned, it was another game in which he failed to find the net.

Gyokeres vs Aston Villa

Minutes played

77

Touches

16

Accurate passes

3/6 (60%)

Shots

3

Shots on target

0

Big chances missed

1

Possession lost

6x

Key passes

0

Ground duels won

1/6

Aerial duels won

0/1

Stats via Sofascore.

The fact of the matter is that Arsenal paid Sporting a lot of money for Gyokers to score goals. He is not doing that with enough regularity.

It was thought when the former Coventry City man arrived that he would be the player to fire Arsenal to the title. He may still do that but the early signs are damning. It said it all that Jesus, who had been on the pitch for a matter of moments, instantly found the net.

He certainly looks like a better option at the moment and it won’t be too long, surely, before Havertz leapfrogs the summer arrival in the pecking order.

Why Kai Havertz is still the main man

It’s funny how quickly things change in football, isn’t it? As we entered 2024, the debate was rife about Havertz.

Like Gyokeres, he was being branded as a flop. Why on earth did the Gunners pay £65m to sign him from Chelsea? Well, as 2024 played out, it quickly became apparent.

Initially signed as a central midfielder, it was as a centre-forward where he wove his way into the hearts of supporters inside the Emirates Stadium. His Arsenal journey is eerily similar to that of Mikel Merino.

As a striker, the big German has been sublime. In 2023/24, he netted just six times in 33 appearances as a midfielder but when leading the line, he scored eight and assisted eight in 18 outings. Nine of his 14 goals that campaign came in February and beyond.

On that evidence, there is hope for Gyokeres yet. However, in Havertz, they have someone who not only suits the system but, crucially, makes Arsenal tick. As we approach a busy stage of the term, his return from injury is timely.

This side are not used to having a striker who runs in behind and as much as they need to adapt better to Gyokeres’ style of play, it speaks volumes that some of Arsenal’s best performances this season have come with a similar player to Havertz in Merino leading the line.

The Spaniard was selected as the number 9 in the enthralling wins over Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur within a few days of each other.

While the Germany international isn’t yet ready to start games, his reemergence on the bench against Villa on Tuesday night was a very welcome sight. His array of qualities are going to be huge for Arteta and Co throughout the second half of this season.

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A summary from England boss Thomas Tuchel, who managed him at Chelsea, tells us a lot.

“I see a bit of Dennis Bergkamp, Robin Van Persie, [Dimitar] Berbatov kind of player. He can play in the half position because he has good runs, but also feels free from the nine and creates overload to one side. When I watched him at Leverkusen, I didn’t know that I would coach him, when I watched him at Paris [Saint-Germain], they made him play as a nine which was very interesting.”

He’s not the only one to make that sort of comparison. Former Arsenal man Paul Merson said at one stage that he was a “Bergkamp kind of player.”

He may not possess the same technical elegance as the great Dutchman but you can see where Tuchel and Merson are coming from. Like Bergkamp, he’s a selfless figure, someone capable of not just scoring but bringing others into play.

It will take a while for Havertz to get up to speed but if he can do it swiftly, it could be the end for Gyokeres in an Arsenal shirt.

Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed has said that he is fit for the ODI and T20 series against Zimbabwe next month. He bowled in the Bangladesh nets at full pelt, leaving him quietly confident of returning to the senior side for the first time since June 21. Taskin is one of the 18 players in the preliminary squad for the Zimbabwe series starting on November 7.Eleven of the players turned up for training on Thursday since six will travel back to the country from South Africa on Friday as part of the A side and Shakib Al Hasan is expected to arrive from the USA on Saturday evening.Taskin suffered a tear on his left side during Bangladesh’s second ODI against India in June. He recovered and was sent to India with the Bangladesh A squad but after five overs in the first game on September 16, suffered the same injury and returned home from Bangalore the next day.”There aren’t any problems now,” Taskin said. “I bowled with full effort on Wednesday and today so I am hoping there won’t be any problems ahead too. I could bowl with my usual pace. I didn’t complain to the physio. I will be more confident if I can bowl like this in the next couple of days.”I am confident that since I am free of injury and I don’t feel pain while bowling, I will do well if I get an opportunity to play.”He may, however, be chosen for only one of the formats against Zimbabwe, so as to not put pressure on his body, which has been susceptible to major injuries in the past.Taskin felt he had hurried his return from the side injury in June, which caused a relapse in India.”I didn’t recover fully and had put myself under pressure. But now I have worked hard on my rehabilitation in the past five weeks. I have found rhythm in my bowling too.”

Mark Newton is now trying to get New Road ready for 2008 © Getty Images

Worcestershire have ruled out playing at New Road again this season after the ground was decimated by the recent flooding. They had already moved August’s home matches to other venues and this latest news doesn’t come as a surprise.The flood waters have subsided, but the ground has been left caked with a huge layer of mud. There is now a huge clean-up and repair operation needed to get the ground ready for the 2008 season.”I think everyone was at their lowest ebb last weekend when the floods finally came off the ground and they saw the mud heap that covered the ground,” Worcestershire chief executive Mark Newton told the Press Association. “It was a big blow to everyone who has put their heart and soul into the club and realise that at the height of summer we should be out there playing cricket. It was devastating.”There is no chance of playing anymore cricket at New Road this summer. It stinks everywhere and there is an inch of mud across the entire square and the outfield.The club’s losses are pushing towards £500,000 and because the ground is situated on a flood plain they are not covered by insurance. However, Newton says there are no thoughts of relocating. “A recent survey showed this is one of the top 10 grounds in the world that people like to visit.”

The three-match series between Sri Lanka and India, which has seen all of22 balls of action, has been cancelled and will be played at a later date.”After consultions with the Indian board, and bearing in mind the weatherconditions, it has been decided to cancel the series and stage it at alater date,” said Samantha Alagama, the media manager of Sri Lankacricket. “It will be played as a tri-series, as originally planned, some time in 2007, most likely after the World Cup. That exact dates and itinerary will be decided after consulting withthe Indian and South African cricket boards.”A Sri Lanka Cricket official told Cricinfo: “The rain has already ruined two matches, and the forecast for the next few days is also not good. We have requested the Indian boardto consider playing the matches at a later date when it’s convenient forboth countries.”The official expressed his gratitude at the Indian decision to stay ondespite the South Africans packing their bags and going home, and saidthat the financial fallout from the cancellation of the tri-series wouldhit the board badly.It has also affected Sri Lanka’s preparations for theChampions Trophy to be played in India in October-November, with no othermatches scheduled before the start of the tournament. Sri Lanka have toplay qualifying games against West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh beforethey can take their place in the main draw for the competition.

The Afro-Asian Cup: yet another series in an already packed schedule © AFP

Pakistan will officially voice its concerns over the increasing workload on international players during the next ICC Executive Board Members meeting in Dubai later this month.According to Saleem Altaf, a PCB director, one of the main issues to be discussed in Dubai will be whether to extend the current FTP (Future Tours Programme) cycle from five to six years.Altaf told The News that Pakistan would like to see the cycle extended to six years, as the current schedule was too hectic, increasing the chances of injuries to players and reducing the amount of time between series for them to recover.”We would like to see a more spread out programme which allows the team some reasonable gaps between the series so that the players can recover well,” Altaf explained. Given the crippling spate of injuries Pakistan has had to endure over the last year, particularly to its fast bowlers, Altaf will have more reason than most to argue for a relaxation in the international schedule. Shoaib Akhtar (hamstring), Mohammad Sami (heel), Shabbir Ahmed (knees) and Umar Gul (back) have all missed a number of matches in the season just gone and have yet to play together in an international match.His comments are also timely; Pakistan are preparing to begin a hectic season of international cricket from October, one of the busiest in recent memory with 13 Tests and potentially 25 ODIs between November 2005 and September 2006.The season begins with England’s visit for a series of three tests and five ODIs. After their departure at the end of December, Pakistan host India for another full series followed in swift succession by the Asia Cup in February, a tour of Sri Lanka in March-April followed by a long return tour to England during the summer. Some Pakistani players will also be involved in the Super Series matches between Australia and the Rest of the World XI in October.The ICC meeting is being held days after the last of three ODIs of the much-maligned Afro-Asian Cup. The series, the brainchild of the Afro-Asian Council and given official status by the ICC, has been criticised by some for its timing, adding one more commitment – of questionable value – for many to an already cramped international schedule.Partially, as a result of this, the tournament has been hit by a number of high-profile withdrawals; some like Makhaya Ntini and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan pulled out due to county commitments in England, while others such as Rahul Dravid cited personal reasons. The majority of pull-outs, however, are injury-related.And despite the appearance of as many as five Pakistani players in the Asian XI, including skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq and the injury-prone Shoaib Akhtar, the PCB had stated before the tournament began that it would not force any of its contracted players to participate.

Guess who’s back … back again?© Getty Images

Brett Lee has been included in Australia’s 14-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy and the Videocon Trophy against Pakistan and India in Amsterdam, AAP has reported. But Adam Gilchrist will be missing from the first tournament, as his wife is expecting their second child, and will only play in the Champions Trophy. Brad Haddin will take his place for the Videocon Trophy.Lee underwent ankle surgery after sustaining an injury during a first-class game in Sri Lanka in March, and was out of cricket for more than three months, before rejoining the Australian squad for net practice at Cairns. He is also expected to visit the MRF Pace Foundation in an effort to prepare himself for the upcoming Test series against India.Allan Border, a selector, had said that Lee would be hard-pressed to reclaim his place after Michael Kasprowicz had performed well against Sri Lanka at both, home and away. In any case, Kasprowicz has been named in the squad as well, with Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie taking up the role of the senior fast bowlers. Brad Hogg is the sole specialist spinner, while Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds and Darren Lehmann will provide backup.Fox Sports website quoted Lee as saying: “I have been working really hard since the setback in Sri Lanka. After the initial disappointment of that injury, I focused all my energies into getting back for the ICC Champions Trophy, which is really the only one-day tournament that has so far eluded us. I guess the whole break has given me a chance to reflect on the past five years and assess where my career is.”The ankle feels fine, my body feels fresh and I just can’t wait to pull on an Australian uniform again.”The team, led by Ricky Ponting, is a formidable one even without Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill, and the batting line-up – consisting of Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Lehmann, Symonds, Clarke, and bowlers who can bat – makes for an intimidating presence on the field.It’s not news that Australia have dominated most Test teams in recent years, but in one-dayers, the gulf is even bigger. Since January 1, 2003, the team has won 44 out of 53 one-dayers, and with Pakistan starting under a new coach, and India struggling to find form, Australia are pretty much favourites for the Videocon Trophy, which begins on August 21.Squad Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Ian Harvey, Brad Hogg, Shane Watson, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath.

England v Zimbabwe, 2nd Test, Chester-le-Street, Day 3Congratulations to Riverside for its maiden Test match. A pity it did not last longer, but trigger-happy umpires had something to do with that. The crowd provided a good atmosphere, apart from the idiotic and irresponsible hurling of rubbish into the air during its Mexican waves.Dion Ebrahim has been given a long run in the Zimbabwean team without too much to show for it at times – certainly more than those enjoyed by more experienced players such as Craig Wishart, Gavin Rennie and Trevor Gripper. His one-day record, except against Bangladesh, is still poor, but he has played some gritty Test innings and might well have a Test century to his credit had he not been sawn off in the nineties in India just over a year ago.And sawn off he was again, twice, adjudged lbw, at the Riverside. An inside-edge in the first innings did not spare him from David Orchard’s finger; in the second, the trigger-happy Darrell Hair failed to appreciate that the ball was missing leg stump. Both errors were clear on television.But at least in the second innings Ebrahim had the opportunity to display his fighting skills with a gritty 55. Zimbabwe, their morale shattered by their first-innings collapse, had to follow-on and needed somebody to lay anchor and yet keep the score moving at the same time. Ebrahim did both superbly.He has suffered in the past from the jibes of other Zimbabweans who have resented the favouritism shown him by the selectors. One of the nicest of men, he deserved better than that and not even his detractors could claim it was his fault. Now, hopefully, he can show enough form and consistency in the future to justify his place.Grant Flower has had a disappointing Test series in England again, with only 71 runs in eight completed innings in the country. He had a good decision from Hair, given not out to an appeal for a catch at the wicket off his forearm, but next ball played a bad, diagonal-bat shot outside off stump to drag the ball on to his wicket.Just to emphasise Zimbabwe’s appalling fortunes, Heath Streak fell victim to cricket’s most unfair law: run out backing up exactly as he should have done, and then finding the bowler fortuitously knocking a straight drive – which he should have caught – on to the stumps at the bowler’s end. Is there nobody else out there who sees this as a law that needs to be changed? There is very rarely any doubt as to whether the knock-on by the bowler is intentional or not.It was good to see another fine second innings from Travis Friend. Now he must learn to do it first time round, under pressure. The same can be said for most of the team.As for the umpiring, it didn’t change the result, but it certainly shortened the match and destroyed it as a contest. Even the most respected members of the ICC elite panel have had bad matches. How much longer are we going to wait for the ICC to bite the bullet and allow technology to assist in eliminating avoidable errors?

NOTTINGHAM, England – Australian captain Steve Waugh is next to nochance of playing the fourth Ashes cricket Test against England atHeadingley from August 16.Waugh retired hurt for one after facing only one ball in Australia’sseven-wicket win today at Trent Bridge which saw the tourists take anunbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series.Waugh suffered a calf injury while attempting a single and a scan laterrevealed a tear.The Australian captain was on crutches when he returned to the team’scelebrations in the dressing room.It is understood Waugh will not be available for the next Test asAustralia continues its march towards a 5-0 series clean sweep.

Sheffield Collegiate secured their first National title a day after winning the Yorkshire Premier League. The final of the National Club Championship was being played at the Walker Trust Ground, home of Southgate Cricket Club after originally being abandoned at Lord’s.The ground had been swamped by two and half inches of rain on Friday but on winning the toss, Sheffield Collegiate captain Ed McKenna had no hesitation in batting. Collegiate struggled against some accurate bowling by Roger Myall and Paul Hacker. Hacker bowled through for 0 for 11 from his allotted 9 overs and support bowlers Jon Lord, Richard Halsall and Richard Smith kept the pressure on, all bowling tightly.Nick Gaywood scored an uncharacteristic 30 in 84 balls before Tasker brought some impetus to the innings. Myall returned to help mop up the tail, bowling Tasker for 31 (from 38 balls) and then dismissing John Hespe as Collegiate’s last four wickets fell for just five runs and Myall finished with 3 for 25 from his 9 overs.Eastbourne’s innings started disastrously, losing Richard Halsall for 0 in the second over. The first four batsmen were dismissed for just 13 runs with two wickets a piece from Richard Kettleborough (former Middlesex and Yorkshire) and Andy Wylie.They never really recovered and spinners John Hespe (2 for 19) and Mark Boocock (1 for 25) maintained the stranglehold as wickets continued to fall regularly. Wylie returned to trap last man hacker lbw and Eastbourne were bowled out for just 75 in 34.3 overs.John Carr, ECB’s Director of Cricket Operations presented the trophy and a cheque for £3,000 to wining Captain Ed McKenna with Paul Stevens picking up a cheque for £1,000 as runners-up. Andy Wylie was named Man of the Match for his bowling performance of 3 for 9 in 8.3 overs.

ScorecardTymal Mills was again in the wickets with 3 for 34•Getty Images

Luke Wright took his run-total in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast to 522 with an unbeaten 92 as Sussex Sharks strengthened their bid for a quarter-final place with an eight-wicket win over Glamorgan at Hove.Sussex made short work of a target of 165, reaching it when George Bailey hit the third six of the 15th over from Dean Cosker to seal only their second home win in the South Group but one which should guarantee a top-four finish with two games still to go.Glamorgan’s total of 164 for 7 looked competitive at halfway as they chased a third successive away victory but Wright and Chris Nash produced another punishing stand against them to set up victory.Three weeks ago in Cardiff they put on 116 but went one better this time, scoring 117 in 69 balls with Nash contributing 50 off 32 balls to the third-highest first-wicket stand in Sussex’s T20 history.

Insights

Sussex are in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals. By contrast, Glamorgan are likely to be scrapping hard for their place after this defeat. It could be argued that Sussex and Glamorgan – two well-rounded, well-drilled teams are similar in style and substance. The difference, it could also be argued, is Luke Wright. With experience playing in the BBL and IPL Wright is perhaps the best and most experienced player in England not in the T20 international team. His past five scores this season are 57*, 111*, 47, 12, 92* and such rare international quality hiding within the domestic circuit is invaluable.

Nash hit seven boundaries and initially took the initiative but once Wright had reached his half-century he went into overdrive, savagely attacking the Glamorgan spinners as he hit Andrew Salter’s off-breaks for successive sixes before taking three maximums of slow left-armer Cosker. It was left to Bailey to hit the winning runs with the eighth six of the Sussex innings.It was the fifth successive game where the side batting second at Hove had won and Glamorgan will feel that their total was at least 20 runs short.They lost opener Jacques Rudolph in the fifth over when left-armer Chris Liddle trimmed his off stump and thereafter Glamorgan needed a solid unbeaten knock of 63 from 46 balls from Ben Wright to hold their innings together.Liddle and leg-spinner Will Beer bowled with commendable control but the fireworks were provided by left-armer Tymal Mills, who finished with 3 for 34 and unsettled all the Glamorgan batsmen with his searing pace.Mills picked up a wicket in his first over when Colin Ingram gloved down the leg side and he returned to the attack to knock back Graham Wagg’s middle stump and have David Lloyd caught off a leading edge.Glamorgan only got some momentum when Craig Meschede clubbed 20 off an over from Matt Machan, including two sixes, and well though Wright batted in difficult circumstances he never found the tempo that Luke Wright and Nash produced later in the contest.