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Alan Shearer reckons Viktor Gyokeres will eventually find his feet at Arsenal but maintains he will get "nowhere near" the impressive figures he achieved at Sporting Lisbon - which ultimately persuaded the Gunners to bring him in.
The Swedish forward arrived at the Emirates during the summer in a big-money move. He was recruited as Mikel Arteta looked to bolster his attacking options with a clinical number nine, yet Gyokeres has found it difficult to deliver consistently in front of goal.
His current season total stands at merely three goals. The 27 year old has failed to score in his previous seven outings for Arsenal in all competitions and squandered several opportunities during their slender victory over Fulham on Saturday evening.
Gyokeres topped the scoring charts across Europe last term as he collected multiple trophies with Sporting, but Shearer argues he falls well short of the calibre of Harry Kane, Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe - who have established the benchmark in European football.
Speaking on Match of the Day, he remarked: "He's not in the league of the three we showed in the previous clip, far from that. But I think he brings a different strength, there's no doubt that he will have to improve his goalscoring, as you said, he's only got three.
"But one of his strengths which has suited Arsenal is he actually goes in behind. When he does that it creates space for others to play because last season you had [Kai] Havertz or [Mikel] Merino coming short and that's easier for teams to defend against.
"When you're running the other way they get deeper and deeper and that then opens up space for others to play. I think from that point of view he has improved Arsenal."
The Newcastle legend continued: "I think he will get the goals, obviously, nowhere near as many as he got last season. But he will get goals with the number of chances that Arsenal create, he will, and his numbers should improve."
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Gyokeres remains supported by both his manager and fellow players, who have maintained that his overall contribution benefits the side, regardless of whether he finds the net.
The victory at Craven Cottage saw Arsenal extend their advantage at the Premier League summit.
They climbed to the top shortly before the international interval and watched Manchester City triumph on Saturday afternoon before responding within hours.
Liverpool faces Manchester United on Sunday, presenting an opportunity to reduce Arsenal's lead back to a single point.
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