Gary Lineker has been analysing Viktor Gyokeres’ struggles at Arsenal following the Gunners’ win over Brighton.
Arsenal beat Brighton 2-1 at the Emirates on matchday 18 to reclaim the top spot from Manchester City.
An even greater challenge awaits, as Aston Villa visit N5 on Tuesday night, with all eyes on Gyokeres to step up on a huge occasion.
The Swede is yet to do so in an Arsenal shirt, as we just saw with Gyokeres’ terrible showing against Brighton, prompting Gary Lineker to share his thoughts on the striker.
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I actually think Arsenal need to sign a goalscorer in January, do you agree?
Gary Lineker compares Viktor Gyokeres to Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Arsenal were warned about signing Gyokeres, who, after 21 games in red and white, still looks far away from the standard expected from a £64m goalscorer.
One huge issue with Gyokeres is the direction of his runs, something Lineker took note of when analysing the 27-year-old’s performance against Brighton.
“I mean, at the moment, I’m looking at him, and he doesn’t really look like scoring a lot of goals, Gyokeres,” Lineker began when speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast.
Later in the episode, the pundit deemed it necessary to compare Gyokeres’ struggles with making runs to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s recent success.
“Dominic Calvert-Lewin did a perfect example of how to do that for the Leeds goal at Sunderland, perfect. He didn’t wait and see where it was going to go; he went right away, pulled away, and then he sprinted at the near post and hoped that the ball would be delivered there, and it was.”
Countless times against Brighton, when Arsenal moved the ball into the box, Gyokeres was far from where fans expected him to be, something Lineker was also wary of.
“I don’t see that too often from Gyokeres at present,” he said after praising Calvert-Lewin.
“The players that score big numbers will do that. You know, Haaland, Kane, Lewandowski, they know how to make those kind of moves into spaces.”
It’s a real concern for Arsenal, as somehow, their signing, who scored 54 goals last season, looks incapable of providing a threat in the box.
Arsenal actually wanted to sign Calvert-Lewin
What’s even more of a concern for the Gunners is who Gyokeres is being urged to look at for inspiration.
Arsenal looked at signing Calvert-Lewin last summer, but opted to prioritise a winger instead, who turned out to be Raheem Sterling.
Change my mind, Dominic Calvert-Lewin would’ve been a better fit for Arsenal than Viktor Gyokeres.
Fast-forward to the summer transfer window of 2025, and Calvert-Lewin was a free agent option for Arsenal, but Leeds United sealed the deal and haven’t looked back since.
Of course, the Englishman has his flaws, but right now, it’s impossible to say that he’s below Gyokeres in terms of standard in the Premier League.
Arsenal need goals from Gyokeres before it’s too late, and with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus returning, it has to be said that time is already running out for the Swede.
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