‘I guarantee you’: Colin Kazim-Richards says £45m Arsenal player could score so many more goals

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There aren’t many football players on the planet who are more well-travelled than Colin Kazim-Richards.

The former Turkey international has played in almost every corner of the globe from Brazil to Mexico all the way to the Turkish Super Lig.

The striker has experienced every footballing culture there is to experience, and he believes that there are a few players whose potential is being limited by where they are playing.

Kazim-Richards was speaking about Brazilian strikers in Europe on the Filthy Fellas Podcast and how they’re not scoring in the way Ronaldo or Romario used to.

Kazim-Richards believes that these strikers don’t score enough because they have to focus so much more that just putting the ball in the net, naming Gabriel Jesus as an example of a player who would score so many more if he could just be a striker.

Jesus could score more

Kazim-Richards shared his verdict on the £45m player.

“They’re not allowed to just focus on goals. In Brazil it’s just focus on goals. I’ll give you another striker, Gabigol, he came to Europe and it didn’t work, but when he’s given the love and focusing on being Gabigol, he scored 30 goals,” Kazim-Richards said.

“I guarantee you that if Gabriel Jesus or Richarlison were able to just be a striker and not worry about everything else and their stats and worrying about their sprints to get their numbers up or whatever it might be instead of scoring goals,” Kazim-Richards said.

Game has changed

As much as we hate to say it, no top club will ever have a striker of that mould these days.

The days of the out-and-out goalscorer are long gone. Goals are now spread throughout a team and a striker is now a cog in a system rather than being a focal point.

Jesus probably could’ve been a 30-goal striker in another era, but, these days, his game has to be about so much more than goals, and while his numbers aren’t as impressive, his all-round game is better for it.