Paul Scholes names Arsenal star he would 'love to play with' despite criticism

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes is a fan of Arsenal’s centre-forward (Picture: Getty Images)

Paul Scholes may not be convinced by one Arsenal star’s quality, but feels the Gunners have a player he would love to call a teammate.

Mikel Arteta ’s side is flying high at the top of the Premier League table, enjoying a morale-boosting 4-1 win over rivals Spurs on Sunday after recent draws against Brentford and Wolves .

The victory at Tottenham came thanks to braces from Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres, with the latter taking his tally for the season to 15 goals.

The summer signing from Sporting had a slow start to life with the Gunners, but now has 10 Premier League goals to his name and 15 in all competitions.

Scholes still does not see a striker of elite quality in the former Coventry City man, but reckons his Arsenal teammates will be delighted to play alongside him due to his workrate.

‘I think you’d love to play with him, he works his b******s off, he occupies them [defenders],’ Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and The Football .

‘Has he got the quality of a [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy or an Andy Cole, these kind of people? Probably not, but you’re pleased for him yesterday.’

Viktor Gyokeres has reached 10 league goals this season (Picture: Getty Images)

Scholes had praise for the Swede, but couldn’t resist a dig at both Tottenham and Arsenal in his assessment.

‘He was probably playing against the most disorganised defence you’ve ever seen, that’ll help him,’ said the Manchester United legend.

‘ Arsenal do struggle against a team that will just sit back and sit back and get in shape, Arsenal struggle big time.’

Arsenal paid an initial £55m for Gyokeres in the summer (Picture: Getty Images)

Nicky Butt also accepted that Gyokeres has had criticism for his level of quality, especially compared to great Arsenal strikers of the past, but showed his ability with the two finishes he produced against Spurs.

‘He’s had a lot of crap and a lot of pressure on him,’ said the former England midfielder. ‘He must have had a load of stick off Arsenal fans about forwards, the forwards they’ve had, and looking at him, his two finishes yesterday, he hit them as clean as a whistle.’

What a strike from Viktor Gyökeres?! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/ZwjrAbySxE — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 22, 2026

Eze echoed Scholes’ thoughts on Gyokeres’ workrate, saying after the win on Sunday: ‘He helps the team, not just with his goals but the effort he puts in. It gets players like me in the best positions and it helps a lot. He’s got his two goals today which he deserves.’