Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has said that Viktor Gyökeres “should not be starting for Arsenal,” insisting that Gabriel Jesus is the better option for the north London side.

Arsenal confirmed their dominance at the top of the Premier League table with a 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday night, with Gyökeres failing to make the scoresheet before Mikel Arteta substituted him for Brazillian striker Jesus in the 77th minute.

Making an instant impact, Jesus scored in the 78th minute, leaving Carragher with questions about Gyökeres’ ability to start for the Gunners.

Viktor Gyökeres failed to score against Aston Villa. Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

“Gyökeres should not be starting for Arsenal, when they’ve got players like this [Jesus],” Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“I think in a couple of games time when Jesus is maybe a little bit more up to speed, he’s a better player than Gyökeres. It’s just… That’s a fact.

“He’s [Jesus] been questioned before saying ‘is he good enough for Arsenal to go and win the league?,’ but right now hes better than the guy they brought in who they thought was going to win them the league.”

Jesus, who missed close to a year out with an ACL injury, has rejoined the side alongside German striker Kai Havertz who made his first squad appearance since August on Tuesday.

While the highly-anticipated arrival of Gyökeres was intended to spearhead Arsenal’s attack heading into this season, the 27-year-old has had a slow start to life in England, scoring just five Premier League goals, two being penalties.

Carragher claimed that the Sweden international is not the best option up top for Arsenal.

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“[Jesus] or Havertz as the central striker is a better player than Gyökeres,” Carragher said. “He lacks finesse and quality when you think of what they’ve got on the bench.

“I think Arsenal need to improve on Gyökeres and they’ve got players that can in Jesus.”

With their win over Villa, Arsenal sit five points clear at the top of the table.