“He’s going through a bit of a bad spell” - Gary Lineker names Arsenal star who should find form for club to realise their ambitions

Pundit Gary Lineker has insisted that Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres needs to improve his goalscoring numbers soon. Mikel Arteta's side are at the top of the Premier League table after eight games but Gyokeres has only managed to find the back of the net thrice this season.

Expectations were high from the Swedish striker when the Gunners splashed £63.2 million including add-ons, for his services in the summer. However, he has not been able to replicate his goalscoring form from Sporting CP at the Emirates so far.

Gary Lineker has claimed that Gyokeres is going through a rough spell of form at the moment. He has insisted that the 27-year-old needs to score more often if Arsenal have to win trophies this season. Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast, via Football 365:

“He (Gyokeres) is going through a bit of a bad spell. Seven games in all competitions without a goal. I think for Arsenal to really realise their ambitions, he’s going to have to start scoring a lot of goals. I think it’s a big spell coming up for him over the next few games.”

Arsenal have scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season but ten of those have come from set-piece situations. Viktor Gyokeres has scored three goals in eight league games so far and has not scored for club or country since September 13. With 19 points after eight games, Mikel Arteta's side lead Manchester City by three points and Liverpool and Bournemouth by four points.

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Fulham manager Marco Silva heaps praise on Arsenal star following defeat against the Gunners

Fulham manager Marco Silva singled out Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes for praise following his side's 1-0 loss. Silva insisted that the Brazil international is extremely difficult to deal with in set-piece situations.

Arsenal secured a much-needed victory against Fulham on Saturday, October 18 and their only goal of the game came from a corner. Gabriel rose highest to flick the Bukayo Saka's corner towards Leandro Trossard who did well to find the back of the net. Following the game, Marco Silva said:

"When you lose a game, it is always a disappointing one. They were at a very good level. We did create chances to score before Arsenal. They were more on that than on ourselves. We knew it was not going to be easy, a tough team to play against but I think we kept them away from big chances in the game. After the goal, we did react and started to play more in our way again."

The Fulham boss added:

"Gabriel jumps so high, it’s impossible to stop him. It’s very difficult to control. The way we tried to block his run, most of the game, we did it very well. We were too open and left the path for Gabriel. We didn’t want him to run in that part. Any flick is very difficult to control at the back post."

Gabriel Magalhaes has been incredible in terms of attacking set-pieces for Arsenal in recent years. He has 21 goals and six assists for the Gunners so far with most of these coming from set-piece situations.

Edited by Snehanjan Banerjee