Viktor Gyokeres should lose his place in Arsenal’s team for the Gunners’ trip to Fulham on Saturday evening.
Mikel Arteta’s side sit top of the Premier League table heading to Craven Cottage, a point clear of second-placed Liverpool.
This is despite Gyokeres struggling to hit the ground running in a red and white shirt, with the Swede finding the back of the net just three times in ten appearances so far this season.
Arteta now has a big decision to make before travelling to West London, particularly after what unfolded during the international break.
Leandro Trossard should start up front instead of Viktor Gyokeres against Fulham
Arsenal had 18 players on international duty over the last week.
This included Gyokeres, who was called up by Jon Dahl Tomasson for Sweden’s World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland and Kosovo.
It transpired to be a disastrous few days for the Scandinavian nation, who lost both games at home without scoring a goal, leaving their chances of securing a spot at next summer’s tournament very slim.
Gyokeres was criticised for his performances in both games, particularly against Kosovo. The striker struggled to get into either match, registering just one shot on target across 180 minutes.
Although his level picked up in a few matches before the international break, this has been an underwhelming season for the 27-year-old thus far.
Meanwhile, Leandro Trossard scored for Belgium in their 4-2 win over Wales, and impressed over two games for the Red Devils as a centre-forward.
Dropping deep to facilitate play and use his technical quality to help break down the low blocks Belgium came up against, Trossard excelled as a false nine.
Based on current form and meritocracy, the 30-year-old should arguably start up front at Craven Cottage, instead of Gyokeres.
Fulham are likely to compress the space behind their backline, which will prohibit Gyokeres’ dynamic runs from being effective, and play into Trossard’s skillset.
Leandro Trossard excelled as a striker in Arsenal’s last win at Craven Cottage
Arsenal haven’t won at Craven Cottage in each of the last two seasons.
Last campaign, William Saliba salvaged a point for the Gunners with a second-half tap-in. In 2023/24, Arteta’s side were beaten 2-1 courtesy of goals from Raul Jimenez and Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
The last time the North Londoners came away from the West London stadium with three points was in 2022/23, when Trossard inspired Arsenal to a 3-0 victory.
The Belgium international was deployed as a striker that day, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on either side of him, and he created all three goals in the first half that gave his team an unassailable lead.
Arsenal also beat Fulham at the Emirates with Mikel Merino up front last term, so using a false nine against Marco Silva’s team is clearly a ploy that works.
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