Rio Ferdinand disagrees with Gary Lineker over Arsenal’s £64m ‘flat-track bully’

Gary Lineker says Viktor Gyokeres needs to start scoring against the ‘top teams’ to avoid being labelled a ‘flat-track bully’.

But Rio Ferdinand does not believe this is a concern and is convinced the striker will win the Premier League title for Arsenal.

The Gunners paid Sporting Lisbon £64million for the Sweden international whose early performances have left fans and pundits divided.

While there is praise for his work-rate, tenacity, hold-up play and ability to disrupt defences, he has scored just six goals in his first 14 appearances across all competitions.

Moreover his four strikes in the Premier League have come against sides near the bottom of the table, namely Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Burnley last weekend.

As a result, some have dubbed the 27-year-old a ‘flat-track bully’, a term used for sportspeople who thrive against inferior teams but don’t deliver in the big games.

‘I don’t want to call him a flat-track bully, that’s a bit unfair,’ former England striker 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.’

Gyokeres was largely anonymous during Arsenal’s toughest matches of the season so far against Liverpool and Manchester City, the only two games the Gunners have failed to win.

He did bag a brace against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League however and Ferdinand has passionately defended the striker, saying his goals against ‘smaller’ teams will lead his side to glory.

‘I don’t agree with all this, “he’s a flat track bully, etc.” Who cares if he is?’ the Manchester United legend said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.

‘That might be just what Arsenal need. Of all the great strikers who’ve played in the Premier League, none of them scored most of their goals against the biggest teams.

‘When you win the league, the big games against your title rivals take care of themselves normally. Most of the time, you lose your games when you don’t beat the teams you’re meant to beat.

‘Where did Arsenal drop points in the back end of last season? The smaller teams. If he’s the type of player that’s going to go and bully those types of teams, you should go and win the league. That’s the missing part of the jigsaw you were looking for.

‘So, all this, “but he can’t do it against the bigger teams”, who cares? Someone else will find a way. Arsenal have got 11 different scorers in the Premier League. Nobody else has more than that.

‘So that tells you they’re sharing enough goals around. If he can bully the rubbish teams and the average teams, I think you’re going to win the league.’

Gyokeres scored a remarkable 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting and while he most likely won’t reach those figures in north London, Ferdinand is still backing him to hit 25 goals this season.

‘I would not be surprised if he does that because he’s going to get the chances to do it. It’s whether he’s clinical enough to finish him,’ the former England defender added.

‘But I agree with what [Mikel] Arteta said about him. He gives him something different. He’s a different profile of striker that’s going to free up others. If he stays fit, Arsenal win the Premier League.’

Gyokeres did suffer a minor injury against Burnley and has not travelled for Arsenal’s Champions League game against Slavia Prague on Tuesday.

It remains to be seen if he’ll be fit enough for the Premier League match against Sunderland on Saturday evening.

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