Arsenal striker Viktor Gokeres has been in the spotlight in recent weeks following his poor form, but Premier League legend Alan Shearer has given a cautious view of the Swedish forward’s situation.
The former England captain believes Gokeres will rediscover his scoring touch sooner or later, but tempered his expectations by suggesting the forward will be nowhere near the extraordinary goal-scoring feat he achieved with Sporting CP last season.
After scoring an astonishing 54 goals in 52 games for Portugal, Gokeres arrived in north London amid high expectations. However, his transition to life in the Premier League turned out to be more difficult than many expected.
Gokeres joined from Sporting in the summer for £64m and has made an encouraging start to his Arsenal career, scoring three goals in his first four Premier League games.
Arsenal’s Victor Gokeres struggles to score goals
But the goals have dried up since then, with the 27-year-old failing to register a goal in his last seven competitive games.
Frustration increased further during Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Fulham when Gokeres missed a golden chance from close range and his shot went over the bar.
Critics have questioned his technical ability and composure in front of goal, with some wondering if he is worth the high price tag.
Despite the growing noise, Shearer remains optimistic about Gokeres’ future, praising his contribution to Arsenal’s attacking dynamics even when he is not scoring.
“He’s not as good as the three guys I mentioned in the last video (Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe), and even worse.” Mr Shearer said this on the BBC’s Match of the Day, as reported by the Metro newspaper.
“But I think he brings another strength. As you said, he only has three goals yet, so he definitely needs to improve his scoring ability.
“But one of his strengths that suits Arsenal is that he really attacks from the back. When he does that, it creates space for other players to play, because last season we lacked either (Kai) Havertz or (Mikel) Merino and it’s easier for the team to defend that way.
“When you’re running in the opposite direction, you get deeper and deeper and create space for other people to play.” I think he’s improved Arsenal from that point of view.
“Obviously he’s going to score goals, but he’s nowhere near the number of goals he scored last season.
“But he will score as many chances as Arsenal create and his numbers should improve.”
Gunners need star striker to get back to scoring form
Gökeres may not be able to repeat last season’s record-breaking form, but Shearer believes the Swede still has a key role in Arsenal’s title challenge.
The Premier League is a much tougher environment than Portugal’s first team, but as Arteta’s system continues to evolve and Gokeres adapts to the pace and intensity of English football, Arsenal fans have every reason to believe the big-money striker will soon rediscover his goalscoring ability.
At the moment, the Gunners are happy with his contribution without scoring, but he needs to find the back of the net as a No.9.
Source: French attacker is closely monitored by Arsenal and Tottenham