Stefan Schwarz has urged Viktor Gyokeres to improve his fitness and lose weight, saying the striker needs to improve physically to reach his best level in the Premier League.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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Stefan Schwarz has said Viktor Gyokeres He must improve his fitness and lose weight if he wants to reach his peak in the Premier League.
Speaking to Hajper’s website, the former Arsenal and Sweden midfielder said the striker is still feeling the effects of missing pre-season and needs time on the pitch to adapt properly.
“He hasn’t had a proper preseason and he needs to play,” Schwarz said.
“You need those six weeks to interact with your teammates, to understand the movements. When the midfielder makes the pass, you just have to look him in the eyes to know where he is going to put the ball. It is a relationship that takes time, and football is decided in detail. Dennis Bergkamp was the best at that.”
18 September 1994: Arsenal’s Stefan Schwarz is chased by Newcastle’s Robert Lee during their match at Arsenal. Credit: Ben Radford/ALLSPORT
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Schwarz praised Gyokeres as “a strong, physical player and a good finisher with both feet,” but did not shy away from what he believes the forward needs to work on.
“Hopefully he starts creating and scoring goals, that he enters a good phase to gain momentum and lose weight, become a little bit lighter, because he is a heavy player,” Schwarz said. “I think that would help him.”
He also pointed to the demands of the league. “Premier League players are more powerful, faster,” he said, adding that “sometimes the dog that barks the loudest is not always the strongest.”
20 April 1995: Arsenal’s Man of the Match goalkeeper David Seaman (centre) celebrates with teammates Stefan Schwarz (left) and Martin Keown after Arse…
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Gyokeres joined Arsenal from Sporting CP in the summer for around €75 million and has already scored six goals this season, four of them in the Premier League. Schwarz remains confident that he will take on the role Arsenal have given him. “He will learn and score a lot of goals, and that will benefit Arsenal.”
The striker was left out of the Swedish squad during the international break due to a hamstring injury, but remains Arsenal’s top scorer in the 2025-26 campaign.