Viktor Gyokeres netted his fourth Premier League goal of the season on Saturday, helping Arsenal secure a comfortable 2-0 away victory against Burnley, a team currently in the bottom five of the league.
Gyokeres, 27, has found the net primarily against lower-ranked Premier League teams such as Burnley, Leeds United, and Nottingham Forest. In contrast, he has yet to score against top-tier clubs like Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United.
This pattern has led to accusations that he is a "flat-track bully," a criticism also raised during his time at Sporting Lisbon, where he scored 97 goals in 102 games.
"I don't want to call him a flat-track bully, that's a bit unfair," Lineker said on The Rest Is Football. "The criticism that people perhaps would say is that what he did in Portugal, he didn't really score many goals against the top teams, and so far his goals have been against Burnley, Forest and Leeds. He needs to do it in some of the big games, but I think he's had a reasonable start."
Rio Ferdinand has dismissed the criticism of Gyokeres as a "flat-track bully," defending the striker's contributions to Arsenal's success this season.
"He needs to do it in some of the big games, but I think he's had a reasonable start." – Gary Lineker
Author's summary: Viktor Gyokeres' scoring mainly against lower-ranked teams fuels a debate on his impact in big matches, with Gary Lineker urging improvement and Rio Ferdinand defending the striker's contributions.