Arsenal frontman Victor Goqueres fired another blank as the Gunners drew with Nottingham Forest, with Mika Richards suggesting the striker needs to leave the team.
Victor Gokeres’ form continues to attract attention (Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Mika Richards has claimed Victor Gokeres would benefit from a time-out from the Arsenal squad after suffering another blank at the weekend.
The Gunners were held back by Nottingham Forest and missed the chance to take the lead with a nine-point lead, but the Swedish frontman is once again attracting attention as he continues to struggle in front of goal.
Gokeres, who scored 97 goals in two seasons and was signed from Sporting Lisbon for £64m, has not been able to replicate that form in England. Having found the back of the net just five times in the Premier League so far, Richards believes he is no longer doing what made him so successful in Portugal.
With Gabriel Jesus fit again, pundits have suggested that leaving him out of the starting XI for the match against Manchester United “might be the best thing for the team”.
Richards said on The Rest Is Football podcast: “I think they need to play Gabriel Jesus now. Mikel Arteta is stuck with Gokeres. I don’t know if he’s struggling with confidence or struggling to adapt to a new league. I know he’s played in the Championship, but the Premier League is a different beast.”
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“I remember saying in all the footage I saw of Gokeres last season that Arsenal fans shouldn’t expect him to be a world batsman, but what he had was an attacking run at the back. But he’s not doing the same now and that worries me. Maybe he needs to take a few games out of the team and get his confidence back before he comes back.”
“There was a moment against Forest where he should have broken through, but as a defender you would think he could recover because he lacks confidence and his touch wouldn’t be right. Even if he did break through, you wouldn’t expect him to score in that moment.”
Gabriel Jesus returns from injury (Image: 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Plc)
Arteta continues to be questioned about Jokeles’ form, although he hasn’t performed as well as the club would have liked, although he did score against Chelsea last week, and the Spaniard admits he wants more from his attacking players. However, he stopped short of placing all the blame on the 27-year-old.
He said: “Obviously we want our players to be decisive at this level, because we need them to create those moments where they can score and have a chance to open the door and change the game. But we haven’t achieved that and that’s everyone’s responsibility.”
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