Arsenal told Aston Villa star 'is the right player' to fuel Man City title chase

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira has identified Jhon Duran as the 'right player' to lead 's challenge against reigning champions .

Vieira also highlighted two strikers who could help narrow the gap on his old adversary Pep Guardiola. One of these is former Coventry City goal machine and current Sporting Lisbon favourite Viktor Gyokeres, while the other is 's in-form Colombian Duran.

The 20-year-old has netted seven times in 13 appearances this season, notably making a significant impact off the bench with winning goals in both the Champions League and Premier League.

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"The question is whether Arsenal can reach their goals with a genuine goalscorer or a false number nine. [Kai] Havertz has performed well since the season's start and has the potential to fill that role. But, as Manchester City has shown, having a pure striker like Haaland makes winning games easier," Vieira told bettingexpert.com when asked about Gyokeres.

On Duran, he added: "I loved his performance against Bayern Munich. He's the right player for Arsenal-quick, unselfish, solid in the air, technically skilled, and intelligent in his movement."

Unai Emery has expressed his commitment to nurturing young talent, even after an incident where the player showed frustration at being substituted against Bologna. Emery shared: "After the match and the press conference, I told him, 'we won a Champions League game, you scored a goal in the Champions League, I don't want to be answering questions about this'.

"Of course, he is young, he has passion sometimes, and sometimes he is showing his energy - positive and negative - but it's not relevant, not important. Because I spoke to him and in one minute, we finished this conversation, without problems. The problem is having to ask questions about it."