Former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt has advised Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to leave out striker Viktor Gyokeres for the upcoming Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Gunners have booked their spot in the European showpiece for just the second time ever and the first in twenty years after overcoming Atletico Madrid 2-1 on aggregate in the semifinals.
PSG, the reigning champions, are widely seen as the favorites to retain their title after edging past Bayern Munich 6-5 over two legs in the other semifinal. Butt is not convinced Arteta’s side can topple Luis Enrique’s star-studded team.
Speaking to Paddy Power via Goal, Butt highlighted Arsenal’s lack of pace on the counterattack as a key weakness against PSG.
He said, “I don’t see anyone beating PSG. Arsenal have no counter-attacking threat; they don’t have a player who can do that with speed.”
Butt gave PSG a 70 percent chance of lifting the trophy in Budapest and stressed that Arsenal must adopt a cautious, defensive approach to have any hope on the break. However, he insisted that Gyokeres should be replaced by Leandro Trossard for this game plan to work.
He added, “I’d make PSG big favorites, 70-30. When they get going, no one can stop them. I expect Arsenal to sit deep, play compact, and defend well. But they need to use Leandro Trossard because he’s the only one with pace. If they go with Gyokeres, he can’t counter-attack, and they’ll struggle.”
Gyokeres has been in fine form lately, scoring in the first leg against Atletico and netting a brace against Fulham last weekend. The Sweden international will be eager to feature in the final after his £64 million move from Sporting last summer.