Viktor Gyokeres has been told that "it's just not happening" for him at Arsenal, with pundit Micah Richards suggesting the club may need to sell the striker in the January transfer window.
The Sweden international joined the Gunners from Sporting Lisbon for £64million 18 months ago, beating a host of Europe's top clubs to his signature. Despite scoring 21 goals last season, he has struggled to consistently influence games this term.
Confidence issues and bench role
Gyokeres has scored just once in 11 outings this season, with several displays lacking confidence. His overall play has not always helped the team, and the most telling sign of his standing came when he was left on the bench for the Champions League final, with Kai Havertz preferred. The German remains Mikel Arteta's first-choice attacker.
Richards, speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, said: "When he first arrived at Arsenal, I was saying to the Arsenal fans, 'Don't expect him to be scoring 25 and 30 goals'. What I really liked about him, he was good at running in behind, but he stopped doing the things that he's really good at."
Attack quality questioned
The former Manchester City defender added: "He sort of looks like he has no confidence. I don't know if the reports in the summer that they tried to get rid of him [were true] or not, but essentially he's had enough game time to show what he can do now at Arsenal and it's just not happening for him."
Arsenal's attacking quality was questioned after their loss to PSG in May, and Richards believes more firepower is needed. "I think if they want to compete and then, say, dominate, then 100 per cent, I think they need more firepower in that forward area, for sure," he said.
Richards concluded that Gyokeres needs a full 90-minute performance with a goal to build confidence, otherwise Arsenal will have to consider moving him on.
